Golden Sun: The Age of Light
by Mokona-Midoki
Summary: A thousand years before the story of Golden Sun began, one young girl will journey across Weyard in order to save her world.
1. Chapter 1

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

_Author's Note: It is said in the game, 'Golden Sun' that long before the beginning of the story a group of wise and brave men sealed alchemy through the four Lighthouses, an act which brought the age of Alchemy to an end, and ultimately caused the decay of the earth. However, I have always wondered just who these men were, and why they did what they did. How could they have had such resolve to do something that could one day destroy their home? This is my interpretation of the events that brought the age of man about. I hope you enjoy it._

_Disclaimer: The actual idea for Golden Sun, adepts, the lighthouses, __Weyard__, etc. are not mine. They belong to the company that made the games. HOWEVER, almost all the characters that appear in this story are original. __Ellora__Noa__Ivira__, Zephyr, etc.__all__ belong to me._

_The age of Alchemy must end. The foolishness of men will bring it about. Four warriors will rise. With their powers combined, the beacons will dim, the stars will be sealed, and the golden sun will set. Ultimately, they are the ones who will bring about the age of man._

_-Prophecy made by the High Wind Adept __Ellora__-_

Chapter One

There was darkness surrounding her then she opened her eyes. Lightning flashed around her, the earth shook, and the seas raged. Suddenly lightning struck the ground not ten feet in front of her, and a fire started. It spread, covering the land in flames. She could hear men, women, and children screaming as they died. She struggled desperate to save them, but she couldn't move. Suddenly, the ground cracked open, a huge yawning ravine. Animals, people, everything disappeared into the gaping scar as the earth began to crumble. And then, she heard the voice, calling her name. Her sister's voice.

"Ellora! Ellora where are you?!" She screamed.

And then she saw her, clinging to the edge of the ravine, trying to pull herself up. She reached out a hand and cried. "Noa…please…help me…"

"Ellora!" And then she could move, and she was running as fast as she could, but it was too late. A blink of an eye, and her sister was gone. Fallen into the abyss.

"NOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Noa woke up screaming. She sat up in bed, throwing off the blankets that covered her. Then realizing where she was, she stopped, and relief swept over her, and she began to sob.

"Noa? Noa what's wrong?" Noa looked up to see her older sister, Ellora. Her long golden hair fell around her face, and her purple eyes were worried.

Noa slid off her bed, and ran to her sister, throwing her arms around her.

"Noa, what?" She said, confused.

"So what happened?"

They were sitting out on the terrace that overlooked the garden behind their house. The moon was bright, and there was a light breeze that blew through it, bringing whispers of faraway places on its arms. Noa was sitting with her knees up against her chest, her arms wrapped around them, as if to protect herself, while Ellora sat across the table from her, staring intently at her.

"I had…a dream."

"A dream?"

"Yes."

"What was it about?"

Noa paused, not wanting to discuss it, but finally, "There was darkness, and thunder and lightning. Earthquakes, and disasters, and…and everybody was dying. I tried to stop it, I tried to help, but I couldn't even move. And then…I couldn't even protect you…"

Ellora was silent, contemplating what her sister had told her. Then, "What do you think it means, Noa?"

"What?" Noa was confused. She was used to Ellora, who always seemed to have the answer to everything, explain things like this. After all, she was the High Jupiter Adept in the city of Anemos. Why couldn't she explain it? "What do you mean?"

"Well, what do you think it is? Is it a vision? Or is it just a nightmare? And if it is the former, than is it a representation of the future, or the direct future? We must try to decide these things based on the knowledge that we have of this. It is our duty, Noa, as Jupiter adepts to be able to protect people with our powers, and our sight."

"I know that Ellora! You don't have to lecture me!" Noa said heatedly. "And anyway, you know I've never seen anything in my entire life!" And it was true. Despite being of the high adept's bloodline, and having immense potential, Noa had never seen a single vision, something that almost any Jupiter adept could do. Next to Ellora and her younger sister Ivira, who saw the future almost as much as they breathed, Noa felt stupid, useless. And why did Ellora always have to think of something like this as an omen!? It wasn't always doom and destruction! "Why does it always have to be something that could be the future!? Why can't it just be a nightmare?"

Ellora sighed. "Noa that's not what I meant, please don't get angry."

Noa stood. "I'm tired. I think I'll go back to bed. Sorry for waking you up, Ellora."

"Noa please…" but she was already gone, the sound of her footsteps fading into the darkness of the hall.

Ellora rested her face in one delicate hand and sighed again.

The city of Anemos lay in all its glorious splendor. It was a city built and inherited by generations of Jupiter or wind adepts. Some said it had been built by the gods of the winds themselves, and indeed it was truly a beautiful city. It was built entirely out of a purple-blue stone, that sparkled when the sun shone on it, carved into the stone of the city everywhere were designs that when the wind blew made a sound like the playing of a flute. Archways stretched over the streets like spider webs, and they seemed almost to hang suspended in the air. But the beauty of the city where she lived held nothing for Noa today. She walked through them, not even noticing where she was going, still contemplating her dream, and the conversation with her sister. She hadn't meant to be so harsh to her. It wasn't Ellora's fault that she had had that dream. But still…why did Ellora always have to think that Noa had seen something. Noa had already accepted the fact that she couldn't see the future. Why couldn't Ellora?

She suddenly stopped, realizing she had no idea where she was going. At that exact moment, she heard someone calling her name. She looked over and found a young man coming towards her. He was tall and slender, and, like almost all the people of Anemos, had blonde hair that framed his face, and purple-blue eyes. He wore the pale blue robes of a Sanctuary Healer, and walked quickly towards her. "Noa!"

She smiled as she went over to her friend. "Hello Zephyr. How are you?"

Zephyr had always been one of Noa's good friends. He was kind and understanding, and he didn't care that she couldn't see the future, unlike so many others, who whispered as she walked by, but stopped when she looked. Not only that, he was Ellora's fiancé. Noa had been a bit jealous at first, since she had always had somewhat of an interest in him, but she had gotten over it when she had seen how happy they were together. He smiled and shrugged. "As good as I could be. The Great Healer doesn't need me today, so I have nothing to do."

Noa glanced at him, puzzled. "But aren't you the first assistant to the Great Healer? Shouldn't he need you all the time?"

Zephyr shrugged again. "He told me to take the day off. I'm not complaining. We've had a lot of work lately." He looked down at her. "Anyway Noa, what are you doing here? I didn't expect to find you here."

She was silent for a moment, wondering what to tell him. "Well, it's…." She looked at him. "I need to talk to you about something." She paused. "In private."

He nodded, his face serious. "Right. Come on, I know a place."

"This way." They were in the large hall of the Anemos Sanctuary. Even though the Sanctuary was one of the most important buildings in Anemos, its build was simplistic, yet beautiful. Doors stood along the hall leading to the many different rooms inside the Sanctuary. However, Zephyr ignored them all and led Noa down the hall until they reached the end of the hall where the altar to the Gods stood. He ignored this too, and instead turned left and led her into a smaller room that stretched up to more than twenty stories high. He waved her over to a place on the floor that pulsed with a lavender light. Standing over it, he held his hand palm down towards the floor. Noa watched as his eyes became vacant and his hand began to glow with a soft silver light of his psyenergy. "Hover." He commanded.

The floor pulsed again, brighter this time, and Noa felt herself lifted off the floor and rise slowly upward until she was almost 50 feet off the ground. Beneath their feet, was a circle of green-blue light that held them up.

"Let's go." Zephyr told her, and holding her hand they walked through the air, over to a ledge, almost fifteen feet away. As they walked, the light grew dimmer and dimmer until when the reached the ledge, it disappeared completely and they fell a few inches to the ledge. He then led her over to another hover-spot, and repeated it again, rising to another ledge. They did this three more times until they reached a ledge with a staircase that led upward into the highest reaches of the tower. They quickly ascended the staircase and came up to a trap door, which Zephyr shoved open and went through, with Noa quickly following.

She found herself in a circular tower room, that she recognized instantly as a study. It was full of books, and papers which were strewn across the tables, and large stuffed chairs as well as plenty of lamps. To the northeast there was a large window that let the late morning sunlight stream in through the glass. In the back there were two doors. Noa looked at him curiously.

"Where are we, Zephyr?"

Zephyr smiled. "This is the Great Healer's private study. Beyond that door," He pointed to the one on the right, "Are the Great Healer's chambers." He motioned to the smaller door on the left. "Those are mine. Besides me and the Great Healer, no one is allowed up here." He finished.

"What about me?"

"You're a special case Noa. I invited you up here."

"Oh. But how can they contact you if they need you in the middle of the night?"

"There's a pipe system that allows you to speak into it in the lower levels and it'll carry your voice up to a set of pipes in the Great Healer's room or my room. It uses a small amount of psyenergy, but it's very useful. Anyway, I believe that you wanted to talk to me about something?" He asked her, leading her over to a couple of chairs.

"Oh yes." She sat down and paused, unsure of how to begin. "Zephyr, you remember the prophecy Ellora made?"

"Which one? She makes so many, I loose track of them." He said laughing slightly.

"The one…the one about the end of alchemy…"

His face suddenly grew serious. "I see."

A few months ago, Ellora had made a shocking prophecy. She had prophesied that the four elemental lighthouses would be sealed.

The lighthouses had stood as long as anybody could remember, and were four of the greatest sources of psyenergy in the natural world. Each lighthouse held an elemental star which powered the lighthouse and each one had been guarded by a clan to make sure that they were never dimmed. In fact, most of the city of Anemos were members of the Jupiter Clan who guarded the Jupiter lighthouse, which stood not two leagues away. Noa knew that the Mercury lighthouse was located in a village called Imil in norther Angara, the largest and most northward continent, and the Venus lighthouse was on the continent of Gondowan outside the town of Lalivero. As for the Mars lighthouse, no one knew where it was, although Noa was sure that Ellora would.

As soon as the prophecy had been made there had been a huge uproar. Security around the lighthouse had been tightened, and everyone had been extremely tense for a few months. But that had been six months ago. And since then everybody had just put it off as an accident, a false prophecy. Everyone except for Noa.

"You see…ever since Ellora made that prophecy…I've had this dream."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Zephyr asked her.

"At first right after she made the prophecy it was just a dream of a small storm that rained on a festival day. But as time went on, it got worse and worse. Storms turned into typhoons, and earthquakes, fires, death. And then last night….Ellora was in it. And I couldn't save her." She finished.

Zephyr nodded seriously. "This is a serious matter." He paused and then continued on. "Have you considered that this might be a vision."

Noa nodded. "At first I didn't want to think of it like that, I just thought that since I'd never had a vision, why would it start now? And why me?" She looked at Zephyr. "I've never done anything amazing, I'm simply average. It's Ivira and Ellora who are the amazing ones! I'm the useless failure." She looked down at her lap, blinking back tears.

"That's not true."

She looked back up and locked eyes with Zephyr. "You have an amazing talent. You can do many things that others could never dream of. You just haven't found your gifts yet." He smiled gentle, and took her hand. "One day, you will find an amazing ability and will be able not only to be outstanding, you'll shock the world."

She smiled, as his confidence flowed into her. "Thank you Zephyr."

"But as for the matter of this dream," He continued, "It is beyond my powers or abilities."

"Then what can I do?"

"Only one thing really you can do. You must go to the Lighthouse, and ask the Gods."

_Footnotes:_

_Author's note: Hi! Thank you for reading Golden Sun: The Age of Light. I have high hopes for this story, so please enjoy. The footnotes are here for things that you might not understand unless you have played Golden Sun or Golden Sun: The Lost Age. (By the way, a league is about three miles)_

_Anemos__-City of wind adepts that was once said to exist on the continent of __Atteka__ But after alchemy was sealed away, it is said that the city disappeared into the sky leaving behind a huge crater. The people that had been left then built __Contigo__ which is where Ivan and __Hama__ are from. It is said that the city of __Anemos__ still travels through the sky. Sheba fell from the sky into the town of __Lalivero__ and it is thought that she is from __Anemos_

_Jupiter Adepts-Jupiter is used interchangeably with wind. If you are a Jupiter adept than you are a wind adept meaning you can use wind __psyenergy__, etc. Jupiter Adepts usually hail from Hesperia. Basic Jupiter powers include seeing the future, reading minds, reveal, and creating small whirlwinds._

_Hover-A wind-type __psyenergy__. In the game you obtain the hover jade in __Shaman__Village__ which allows characters to use it. When used it allows you to float into the air and walk through the air for short periods of time. (For the sake of my story, all moves that require items in the game will be able to be used naturally without anything. It makes it much easier for me.)_

_Psyenergy__-The power that an adept has.__ There are four types of __psyenergy__, fire (Mars), earth (Venus), water (Mercury), and wind (Jupiter). Each type of __psyenergy__ has special moves based in their elements._

_The Elemental Clans-The four elemental clans protect the four elemental lighthouses. (You do not have to be a member of a clan to be an adept.) In the game, Mia and Alex are the only two left of the Mercury clan. __Hama__ and Ivan are of the Jupiter clan. The entire city of __Prox__are__ of the Mars clan. You meet no one of the Venus clan in the game. Each clan has physical qualities that distinguish them from other people. People of the Mercury clan have pale blue hair and eyes. Members of the Jupiter clan have purple eyes. The Mars clan has reptilian like skin, and exotic colored hair._

_The Sanctuary: This is the place where you can be healed in the game. In the story, it is a place of healing and rest. It is not to be confused with the Lighthouse Sanctuaries._

_Game Characters-As far as characters from the actual Golden Sun games go, since this story takes place at least a thousand years before the game starts, no they will not be making an appearance. In fact, the only time you'll probably ever see their names will be in the footnotes. They will not be jumping time, or bending space and ending up in front of __Noa__ and her friends. Sorry for anybody who wanted them to show up __randomly._


	2. Chapter 2

Golden Sun: Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter Two

_Thank you Bubblefox for the review! Everybody else who enjoyed it, please review. I'd really like to know what you think._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. However, almost all the characters in this story are original. These include Noa, Ellora, Zephyr, Ivira, etc._

Noa stared at Zephyr. "The lighthouse? To ask the gods?" Her eyes went directly to the window, where far in the distance she could see the top of the lighthouse shining brightly with a steady light.

"Yes. I believe that the only way you will be truly able to understand this is to ask them." He told her.

"But, the only true way to speak to the gods is to go to the Lighthouse Sanctuary! And there's no way I'd be allowed up there! Even if Ellora is my sister!" The Lighthouse Sanctuary was at the very top of the lighthouse, where the beacon stood. It was completely off limits to everybody but Ellora, and those directly beneath her. No one was allowed up there unless they got direct permission from Ellora. And Noa knew, she'd never be allowed to go.

"Ah, but you are forgetting one thing." Zephyr said, a small smile playing across his face."

"And what is that?" Noa asked him.

"Me."

"You?' Noa looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

Zephyr's smile grew wider. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

Suddenly it clicked. "The Great Healer is allowed inside the Sanctuary! And since you're his assistant…"

He nodded. "So am I."

She felt excited for a moment then her face fell. "But Zephyr…how do you even talk to the gods? I thought it was impossible."

"I don't know how, but it's not impossible. There have been many accounts of people talking to the gods."

"But those are just stories, legends! Tales mothers tell their children at night."

"But in all legends lie truth." He looked at her now, his eyes locking with hers. "I do not know how, but Noa, you must go to the Lighthouse Sanctuary. You need to do this."

Noa held his gaze for a few moments then looked away. "I know…"

They were quiet for a moment, then Zephyr spoke. "So, when do we leave?"

"Now."

They snuck out of the city thirty minutes later, both on horses. Noa had traded her light purple dress for the pale blue robes of a healer. Noa wasn't so sure about pretending to be a member of the healers, but Zephyr had assured her it would be the only way they could both get into the Sanctuary. It was a beautiful day, but Noa didn't notice it at all. She was to busy thinking of what she had to do. Zephyr set a pace which was not a gallop, but instead a canter that made the landscape go quickly by. After about an hour or so of riding like this, he turned to her. "Have you ever been to the lighthouse?"

She shrugged. "Once or twice. It was only for ceremonial reasons though. I never actually went because I wanted to."

"Why not?"

"It just seemed like, I don't know. Like the time was never right for me to go."

"But now it is?"

She looked over at him. "Now, I have no choice. You said it yourself, Zephyr. I have to go to the lighthouse."

"Still, this will be the first time you will go to the lighthouse of your own accord."

"Yeah, I guess so." They were quiet for a moment, then. "Zephyr?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever been inside the lighthouse sanctuary?"

"Only once."

"What's it like?"

He paused for a moment, considering his answer. "It's the most peaceful, and beautiful place I've ever been. It's completely open to the air, and it's almost like you can feel yourself and the wind become one. I have never felt something as profound as what I felt there."

"Will I feel that way?"

He shrugged. "Perhaps. People's reactions are all different."

They didn't say anything else for the remainder of the trip, until, finally, they reached the bottom of the mountain on which Jupiter Lighthouse stood.

"We'll need to leave the horses here." Zephyr motioned at a small stable that was off to their left a ways."

Noa nodded, and after they had left their mounts in the care of a slim young man, who didn't look like he could handle horses, they began to climb.

After about an half an hour's walk, they reached the foot of the lighthouse. It stood like a needle piercing the heavens, so tall that the highest points were lost in the clouds. Even so, Noa and Zephyr could still see the beacon shining brightly from the top. It had been created out of the same stone that made up the city of Anemos. But when, how, or who had built it had been lost in the stream of time and history. Noa paid no attention to it. It was the top she was concerned with. "Let's go Zephyr."

Zephyr put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Wait Noa."

"What is it?"

"From here on, I lead. Otherwise, we won't get very far."

She stood aside and waved him ahead. "Well then, by all means, lead on oh fearless one."

Zephyr laughed, and took the lead. "Don't forget to put up your hood, Noa."

Noa quickly pulled the cowl of the blue robe over her blonde hair, and fell in step behind Zephyr.

Climbing the stairs, they reached the great golden doors, only to be stopped by a pair of guards. "What business have you inside the Lighthouse?"

Zephyr smiled. "My name is Zephyr de Anila. I am the first assistant to the Great Healer, and have come to pay my respect to the gods." He then motioned to Noa. "This is Aira de Anila, my apprentice. I have brought her along in order to show her the lighthouse."

The guards eyed Noa suspiciously, but stood aside, and opened the great doors in order to let them in. As the doors closed behind them, Noa made to remove the hood, but Zephyr once again stopped her. "That's probably not a good idea. You'd better leave your hood up in case someone here recognizes you."

"It's hot with this on." She complained.

"Do you want to get into the Sanctuary or not?"

She fell silent.

"That's what I thought. Come on, this way." He led her quickly down the hallway, finally arriving at another set of doors with another set of guards. They passed inspection once again, this time arriving in a huge chamber. It was gigantic, stretching up into reaches that Noa couldn't see. On several pedestals stood statues of Jupiter spirits, but the thing that caught her eyes was the pillar of light that stretched from the floor up into the unknown space above them. It shone with a golden light, and sent golden sparkles floating through the air. Noa had only been here once, but it was just as magnificent as she remembered. However one thing puzzled her. She couldn't see anyway of reaching any higher level.

"Zephyr?"

"Yes?"

"How do we reach the top?"

He looked at her quizzically. "Don't tell me you've never been any higher than this?"

She shook her head.

"We go up through that." He pointed to the beam of light.

"How?"

"Here, let me show you." He led Noa over to where the beam struck the floor, and seemed to disappear. Grasping her arm tightly, Zephyr pulled her directly into the light.

As soon as they stepped into the light, Noa felt herself began to move upward at a much faster rate than when Zephyr had used hover at the healer's sanctuary. They rose higher and higher into the far reaches of the room, until finally, they rose through a hole in the ceiling, and came to a stop, standing on the beam of light, which supported their weight effortlessly.

They were in a room much smaller than the one they had left. Extending from the two sides of the room were two platforms, that stretched out to where the light ended, making it easy for anyone to safely step off. Noa and Zephyr did so, and with Zephyr still leading the way, exited the room which led to another hallway.

"How much farther to the Sanctuary?" Noa asked.

"It's at the end of this hall."

At the end of the hallway were two more guards. Unlike the two at the front entrance, these guards were armed with white and pale blue fragile looking lances. But Noa knew that they were far from fragile. Forged from the essence of the wind itself, they could cut through anything, and the guards who held them looked very skilled. As Zephyr and Noa approached the door, they barred they way with their lances.

"We are here to pay our respects to the gods."

The guards obviously recognized Zephyr, as they quickly pulled their lances aside, and bowed before they opened the doors to the Sanctuary. As the doors opened, Noa felt a breeze stir past her face, and she breathed in deeply. From somewhere far off, she thought she heard a strange melody playing.

Zephyr quickly led the way through. As Noa came out onto the Sanctuary platform, she gasped. It was glorious. They were higher than she had ever been before, and she could see what seemed like the entire continent of Hesperia laid out before her.

"Isn't it beautiful?" She breathed as she removed her hood. The wind swept around her, bringing stories of places and people she had never seen. She wanted to listen to them all, take them all in, but Zephyr pulled her out of her thoughts.

"It is. But that's not why we're here." Zephyr reminded her.

"Now what?"

He looked at her very seriously. "You must do the next thing on your own."

"What? But why?"

"I dare not accompany you on this part of your journey. You must speak with the gods on your own. I cannot accompany you."

"But-" Noa cast her mind for something to say to make him come with her.

"You can do this, Noa. I believe in you. Alright?"

She nodded. "Alright."

"Just remember, you must call on all the gods. Even Catastrophe."

"I know."

"Then go up those stairs. I leave the rest up to you."

Noa took a breath, stealing herself for what was to come. Then she went up the stairs and saw for the first time, the beacon of the lighthouse. It was a round platform that had statues of Jupiter spirits surrounding it. In the middle was a depression which, in the center, became a hole sinking into the depths. But the beacon itself was unlike anything Noa had imagined. It was a huge sphere of swirling light. Silver, white, and all the shades of purple, all swirled and danced together shining like a small sun. As Noa walked towards the beacon, she could feel her psyenergy strengthen in response to the beacon. Stopping where the depression started, she knelt reverently, and bowed low.

"Oh spirit of the lighthouse, hear my prayers. I call upon the gods of Jupiter, that I may speak with them. The spirits of the winds themselves, Atalanta, The heavenly huntress, Procne, goddess of the sky, Megaera, goddess of justice and vengeance, Flora, the wind rider, Thor, the mighty god of thunder, Eclipse, whose wings span the skies, and" She paused here, afraid to go on, to say the last name. "And Catastrophe, embodiment of destruction. Hear my cries, and know who I am. Noa la Solana de Anila. I am your humble servant, and beseech you that I may speak with thee." She reached inside the neck of her robes and pulled out her amulet. It was carved from white sylph and depicted the symbol of Jupiter upon it. Every member of the Jupiter clan bore one, given to them at birth. Once it was put on, it never came off. Without it, they would no longer be a member of the clan. It was the most precious thing she owned. Removing it for the first time, she sat up and held it out before the beacon. "I offer this as payment for the privilege of speaking to the Gods." She clenched her fist around it, and then with a agonizing slowness, tossed it into the beacon. Noa bowed low again, trying not to think about what she had just done.

At first nothing happened. Noa began to feel foolish, as she sat up. What had she been thinking?! Like the gods would talk to her! She had been stupid enough to believe that the dream might have been a vision, and now she didn't even have her amulet. She would have to leave Anemos, she would have to, but then, the wind which had been blowing gently picked up.

It was a steady breeze, but quickly grew stronger, and in less than a minute it had the strength of a gale. Not having the power or ability to stop winds this strong with her psyenergy, Noa did the only thing she could. She flattened herself against the ground as much as she could, and prayed that Zephyr was safe.

It grew stronger, and she could feel her clothes flapping around her violently in the wind. Then, there was a crack of thunder and she felt something sizzle past her face, to strike the hole above which the beacon swirled. She stayed still, sure that she was dead. Then, suddenly, just as quickly as it had come, the wind was gone, but the strange distant melody which she had heard before had returned, only much stronger this time. Then the voice spoke.

"Noa la Solana de Anila. Raise your head."

Noa raised her head slowly, more afraid than she had been in her entire life. And as her face lifted, she found herself face to face with the gods of Jupiter.

_Footnotes:_

_Hello! I hope you enjoyed Chapter Two! I really worked hard on it. It was mostly description though, don't worry, it starts getting exciting soon. Anyway, here are the footnotes!_

_The Lighthouse Sanctuary: This is the very top part of the lighthouse, where the beacon resides. In the game, you always have to figure out a challenge or a puzzle in order to get into the Sanctuary. In this story, you have to be highly connected! I figure being the next Great Healer should be able to get you into the Sanctuary._

_The Jupiter Lighthouse: The Lighthouse stands outside the city of Anemos. In the game it's a short distance from Contigo. I fabricated the distance, so that they could travel it in one day. It's also right up against the mountains, so I figured you'd have to do some climbing to get to it. The main room, transportation beam of light, and statues all appear in the game! And yes, the beacon basically is a swirling ball of color and light._

_Zephyr and Noa's full names: I made these up. The name 'Anila' means children of the wind (in Hindi), so everybody of the Jupiter clan has this as their last name. Because Noa is part of the family of the high priest, she has an extra name. 'Solana' means wind from the east, in Latin. (Oh and by the way, Zephyr's name means 'strong wind' in Greek. Noa and Ellora don't mean anything as far as I know. I named them after two little girls I know. (They're sisters and the most adorable things ever.) Ivira I made up.)_

_The Gods of Jupiter: These are basically the summons in the game that require wind spirits in order to summon them. Technically, Eclipse, Catastrophe, Megaera, and Flora all require another element as well, but who says they only have to be god of one element? (Also, technically, there are two other gods who I could have included as a god of Jupiter. Coatlicue, goddess of life, and Moloch, god of ice and such. But it seemed more appropriate to let them be gods of Mercury (Water) instead.)_

_The Jupiter Amulet: Yes, I made that up. There is no such thing as a Jupiter amulet or a sylph amulet, for that matter, in the game._


	3. Chapter 3

Golden Sun: Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter Three

_Thank you __Bubblefox__EmpressVicky__, and __Argret__ Aria for the reviews! Everybody else who enjoyed it, please review. I'd really like to know what you think._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Golden Sun. However, almost all the characters in this story are original. Thor, __Atalanta__, Flora, Eclipse, __Procne__, Catastrophe, and __Megaera__ belong to Golden Sun. __Noa__Ellora__, Zephyr, __Ivira__, etc. belong to me._

"Noa la Solana de Anila, why have you called us here?"

Noa couldn't speak. In all honesty, she hadn't even expected anything like this to happen. At the very most, she had thought maybe a spirit of Jupiter would come and tell her to stop annoying the gods, as they had far more important things to do than listen to a young girl's prayers. Never had she thought that the gods would actually appear. And not just one, but all of them.

"I ask you again, Noa la Solana de Anila. Why have you called us here?" The one who spoke had to be Thor. He looked like a middle-aged man with a great blonde beard. He carried his huge war hammer across his back, and lightning seemed to crackle around him.

Noa knew she had to say something. "Be-because, I have-" She fell silent not knowing what to say.

A tall maiden with long green hair, held back by a headdress of wings, and in a white dress that hung loosely from her shoulders spoke. "Father, calm yourself. She is but a child." The heavenly huntress, Atalanta, turned her face towards Noa. "Child of Anemos, why do you need to speak with us?"

Noa swallowed hard, and then said, "I have a question to ask you."

The maiden next to Atalanta leaned towards her. She was dressed in pink and green, and had shorter purple hair, it too was held back by a headdress of wings. Flora, the wind rider and goddess of flowers smiled gently. "You may ask whatever you wish of us."

The great brown dragon with sky blue eyes, Eclipse, turned them from Noa to Flora. "Do not make promises lightly, Flora. For even us gods may be unable to keep them."

Procne, a huge white bird, spoke then. "However, we must do all in our power to grant the wishes of our children." She turned her eyes upon Noa. "Now, what is your question?"

Noa struggled, wondering where to begin. "Um, my sister, Ellora, is the high priestess of Jupiter."

The goddess to the direct left of Thor sighed. She had short brown hair and wore a blue dress. From her back sprouted a pair of great white wings, and in each hand she held a sword. Megaera, goddess of justice and vengeance. "We already know this."

"Silence Megaera. Let her speak."

Megaera turned to the last figure, and bowed. "Yes, father." Catastrophe stood taller than even Thor, he was covered in steel armor and carried a huge sword and shield. There was a sense of foreboding that seemed to surround him, and Noa felt herself quiver beneath his scrutiny.

"Speak child." Came the command.

"As I said, my sister is the high priestess. A few months ago, she made a prophecy that they lighthouses would be sealed." Noa caught a glance pass between Flora and Atalanta at this. She continued. "Ever since then, I've been having dreams about the destruction of this world." She looked up at the heavenly beings above her. "Are these true? Will this truly come to pass?"

The gods were silent for a moment, then Procne spoke. "Yes, this future will come to pass."

Noa felt a great despair well up inside her, and she hung her head, with a feeling of defeat.

"But only if," The goddess continued. "Only if you let it."

Noa looked back up at her, confused. "What do you mean, only if I let it?"

"It means that it is your destiny to stop this from happening."

"What?"

Catastrophe now spoke. "Your sister's prophecy was true. If the world continues the way it has been, this world will be destroyed."

"But why? Why does this have to happen? Why can't you stop it?"

"Because, this is already beyond our control." Megaera told her.

"You see, Child." Eclipse began. "This has been imminent ever since this world was created, and we became the gods of it. The power that alchemy offers to man is an intoxicating thing. While many people, such as you, use this power to help and assist others, some humans will use it for their own personal gain."

"But then, does that mean, that someone is trying to…gain power?"

"On the continent of Angara, there is a mountain. It is called Mt. Aleph. It is where the four beacons lights meet. When these four lights meet, a stone is formed. It is called the Stone of Sages. It has immense power."

"What kind of power?"

"Power that should be left to the gods. Power that should never fall into human hands. They power to destroy, the power to heal, the power to bring back the dead. If a human was able to obtain this stone, then the damage would be enough to destroy Weyard."

"But why hasn't someone obtained this stone before?"

"At the base of Mt. Aleph is a village, called Vale. The people of Vale guard the stone, and the sanctuary which rests at the top of the mountain."

Noa took all the information in, trying to absorb it. "So what you're saying is, is that someone is planning on stealing the Stone of Sages?"

"Yes."

"But I don't understand! Why can't you just find this person, and punish them?"

"Because, we gods cannot interact in the choices of humans. If this person chooses to do this, we cannot stop them."

"Well, then tell me where they are! I'll find them and stop them!"

"Even if you stopped this one person, there would be others who would try to obtain it in the future. Others who you would be powerless to stop."

"But then, why must the Lighthouses be sealed?"

"The Stone of Sages is directly linked to the Lighthouses. If the Lighthouses are sealed, then the stone will disappear until the Lighthouses are relit."

"But if the Lighthouses are sealed, won't alchemy disappear from the world?"

"No, not entirely. It will be greatly weakened, and people will not be able to do things as great as they can now. But it will still be there."

Noa looked down, only one more question in her mind. "But…why me? Why choose me to do this? I, I mean…I've never seen the future until now, my powers have never been all that strong, Ellora or Ivira, or Zephyr would be better for this task."

Thor answered her question, his voice like rumbling thunder. "We never chose you. You were chosen before you were born. This is not merely a task given to you, this is your destiny."

She was silent, contemplating all they had told here. Then, "What must I do?"

"You must travel to Vale, and ascend to the Sol Sanctum at the top of Mt. Aleph. There you will meet someone who will help you with your quest."

"But how will I know the way?"

Atalanta stepped forward. "Do not worry, If you are ever in need, call any of our names, and we will come to your aid. And here." She held out her hand. There in her pale hand lay Noa's amulet. "You should not sacrifice your amulet lightly."

Her finger's trembling, Noa reached out and took her necklace. "Thank you."

"Do not fear, Child of Anemos. You hold a far greater power than you know."

She stepped back to join the other gods. "Remember, we will always be with you." There was a roaring wind, and Noa covered her ears. When she looked back up, only Megaera remained.

"Get up."

"What?"

"I can't stand it when people kneel before me." The goddess explained. "Get up."

Noa quickly stood, dusting off her knees.

"You're probably wondering while I'm still here."

"Well, um, yes."

Megaera sighed. "Well, truth be told, a lot of destiny is riding on you right now. And personally, I don't think you look like much."

"Oh."

"So to make sure you don't mess up to bad, here. This is for you." She tossed Noa a long object wrapped in white cloth, which Noa caught clumsily. "Learn how to use it."

"But, what is it?"

"You'll figure it out." She turned away and strode towards the beacon. "I guess I'll see you later." With that she stepped into the beacon. With a flash of light, she disappeared.

Noa stood there for a moment, a bit confused by the goddess's unconventional behavior. Then she turned around and walked back towards the stairs. When she went down them, she found Zephyr sitting up against the wall. He looked up at her.

"Well? How'd it go?"

"I prayed, and they all came." She told him, still a bit dazed.

"They _all _came?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh."

He pointed at the object that Megaera had given her. "So, what's that?"

"Uh, I'm not quite sure. She didn't say."

"Who didn't say?"

"Megaera."

"So, are you going to open it?"

Noa looked down. "I guess so." She found the end of the cloth, and began to unwrap it. They could tell what it was as soon as the cloth had begun to come off. It was a sword. The sheath was plain brown leather that had designs of curling lines and waves covering it. The hilt was wrapped in plain wire, and the pommel stone was a deep purple stone whose color seemed to shift when she stared into it.

"Are you going to draw it?"

Noa took the hilt, the feeling strange. Slowly she began to draw the blade, until it was fully out of the sheath. As soon as it was out of the sheath it changed. No longer was the hilt simple wire, but instead had changed to white-blue sylph, the cross-guard was a pair of spreading wings, and the blade itself shone silver in the light of the sun. Noa looked at Zephyr, startled. "What happened?"

Zephyr was looking at the sword, intently, as if trying to figure something out. "It seems that the goddess has given you a magic sword."

"A magic sword?"

"Well, there's obviously some spell cast on it, to make it look quite ordinary until you take it out of its sheath." He paused for a moment, considering something then. "Noa, may I hold it?"

"Of course." She held out the hilt to him, which he took. As soon as Noa removed her hand from the sword, Zephyr's arm dropped, and the sword hit the ground.

He smiled grimly as he tried to lift the sword, to no avail. "Just like I thought. You've definitely got a magic sword, Noa. Here, take it back. I can't hold it up for much longer."

Noa quickly took the hilt from Zephyr, and once again, lifted it like it had no weight at all. She sheathed it, and offered her hand to Zephyr, who took it, and she quickly pulled him to his feet.

"I'll bet you're the only one who can draw it from its sheath, as well as being the only one who can lift it once it's out of its sheath." He nodded at the sword. "You've been given a great gift, Noa. But what's it for?"

She was silent, not wanting to say it. "It's for my journey."

"Your journey?"

Noa nodded. "Yes. I'm going to Angara."

He looked at her, surprised. "Angara? Why there?"

"I'm supposed to go to a mountain called Mt. Aleph. There will be someone who will help me with my quest."

"And what exactly is your quest?" Zephyr asked her.

Noa knew she couldn't tell him. She knew she couldn't tell anyone. If anybody knew what she was planning, what she had to do, she would be stopped. They would throw her in prison without a second thought, and the world would be destroyed. And if there was one thing Noa would never allow, it was to let the world end the way it had in her dream. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Noa?"

"Let's just get down. They'll be looking for us back in Anemos soon."

"Noa, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Zephyr. Let's just go home."

He sighed. "Alright. C'mon, this way." He led her away from the door.

She followed. "Where are we going? Isn't the door that way?"

"We're not going that way. It'd be awfully strange if you came back with a sword, now wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so."

He led her over to a series of floating platforms. Stepping carefully, they crossed over to a larger platform that was made of the same material as the lighthouse. As soon as they had stepped into the middle of the platform, it began to move downwards at a steady rate, until finally they reached the bottom of the lighthouse.

_Footnotes:_

_Chapter three! The gods of wind are introduced! So exciting! Anyway, all Golden Sun fans out there should recognize them as the summons from the game. They get an upgrade in the story and get to be the gods. Anyway, __Noa's__ quest is introduced, AND she gets a magic sword! Because there has to be some sort of magical artifact in a big quest, right?_

_The Gods of Jupiter: Okay, so technically, no, Flora and __Atalanta__ are not the daughters of Thor. Neither is __Megaera__ the daughter of Catastrophe. BUT in the game, they never specify anything about the gods, besides what they are gods of. And in mythology, the head gods are usually the parents of some of the lesser gods, so I decided to take them and portray them my way._

_Megaera-Yay__! We get to have a very un-godlike goddess. For all those of you who were expecting all the gods to be mysterious and mystical, sorry. Because __Megaera__ is the goddess of vengeance and justice she gets to have a temper, and I don't know why, but I see her as a person who, despite being a god, gets easily angry with people, and doesn't have a whole lot of faith in a person like __Noa__. So I got to mess with her and make her the most human of the gods. I had fun with this. And since she will be showing up in the future, I developed her character more than the others. If any of you dislike this portrayal of her, sorry but it's my story._

_Noa's__ Sword-I took creative liberty on this and gave her a magic sword. So far, she's the only one who can draw it or use it. More properties of her sword will be revealed later on. For right now, it's pretty and just that. (__Noa__ has had basic weapons training, but she's not a master or anything.)_


	4. Chapter 4

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

Chapter Four

By: Mokona-Midoki

_Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun, however all characters, excluding the Gods, are original and belong to me._

_Thank you to all those who read and reviewed! Please continue to read. As to the anonymous review I received, you bring up some excellent points. The other gods will be introduced later in the story, so you'll have to wait to see what they think of Alchemy being sealed. For Eclipse not mentioning the decay of the world, that will be discussed later as well, so please keep reading! As for the fate of __Anemos__, it is said in the game that after alchemy was sealed away, it just disappeared into the sky one day. It is also said that it still flies through the sky. Thank you for your review!_

Noa was silent all the way home to Anemos. She had hid the sword inside the saddle bags wrapped up inside her clothes, as she still wore the healer's robes Zephyr had given her. Zephyr tried to talk to her several times, but she remained quiet. Finally he fell silent as well. As they approached the gates of the city, he turned to her. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"You know about what." Zephyr replied. "About what happened up there!"

Noa shrugged. "There's nothing to discuss."

"Yes, there is." When she didn't reply, he continued. "So, what, are you just going to go off to Angara with no help and no way of where you're going?"

"I know where I'm going." They were passing the guards now. Noa nodded to them as they entered the city.

"Alright, how are you going to get there?"

"I'll take a ship."

"And how will you pay for the ship?"

She looked at him. "It's not like I don't have any money. I'm perfectly capable of paying for my passage."

"And then where will you go? To Mt. Aleph? Noa, you don't even know where it is! This morning, you didn't even know it existed!"

"I'll buy a map." They were at the gates of the Anemos Sanctuary now, which were quickly opened, and they went in.

He suddenly pulled his horse in front of hers, causing her to stop abruptly. "Noa, let me help you!"

She looked at him. "No." She began to maneuver her horse around his.

"Why not?"

"Because you can't leave."

"But-"

She cut him off. "But nothing. You're the next Great Healer, and neither the Great Healer now, nor Ellora can afford to let you leave. They need you here." They arrived at the stables and both dismounted. Stable hands came out to get the horses, and Noa grabbed the bag that held her clothes and the sword.

"They need you as well."

"Not as much as they need you." She looked at him. "I'm only the younger sister of the High Priestess, and anyway, my powers aren't all that amazing. You on the other hand are the first assistant to the Great Healer. People here need your gifts. I won't be missed. It's perfect."

He was quiet. "Nothing I say can change your mind?"

Noa shook her head. "It's better this way."

"So when do you plan to leave?"

"In a day. I've got to get all my stuff together, and make sure I'll be able to leave without getting caught." They were alone now. "Thank you for taking me to the lighthouse. You really helped me today."

"Noa…"

"Ellora will be expecting me soon. Thank you again, Zephyr." She turned and walked out through the gates of the Sanctuary and didn't look back.

"Noa! Noa!"

Noa turned quickly, just in time to catch her younger sister, Ivira, as she slipped on the last three stairs, and fell. She pulled the fourteen-year-old girl to her feet, checking to make sure she hadn't hurt anything serious in the fall. "Ivira! Are you alright?"

Ivira brushed her hands away, impatiently. She hated being treated like a child, even though she was pretty immature. At fourteen, she was Ellora's minature in every way. She had the same long blonde hair, the same purple-blue eyes, the only thing that differed her from her older two sisters was her height. Where Ellora and Noa were both tall, Ivira was very short, not topping five-three. "I'm fine, Noa! Anyway, you should be more worried about yourself."

"Why's that?"

"Why do you think? You've been gone all day, Ellora had no idea where you were; no one did!"

"Don't tell me she got mad." Noa groaned. Ellora was very kind and forgiving, unless you got her mad. Then she went into a towering temper. It was frankly terrifying.

"Uh-huh. You should have seen her."

"Well then, I'd better lay low."

"Noa, she already knows you're here."

"She does?!"

"Yeah, so I came to warn you."

"Great. Just what I needed." She started up the stairs Ivira had just fallen down. "How does she know?"

"One of the servants saw you coming in through the garden, and she told Ellora."

Noa looked at her sister. "And of course, you just happened to be there?"

Ivira glared. "I wasn't spying if that's what you mean."

"Then what were you doing? Playing a game to see how long you could keep your ear pressed against the door?"

"I don't press my ears up against doors anymore!"

Noa rolled her eyes. "Right, now you use your psyenergy to spy on people. What a great way to use the power given to you by the gods."

"Yeah, well what were you doing all day, huh?" Ivira asked her.

"I don't think that's really any of your business Ivira."

They had reached the top of the stairs now, and Noa turned to the hallway that led to Ellora's room. "You'd better go to your room for a while Ivira."

"I want to go with you!"

"No. Stay away from Ellora's room." She begin walking down the hall, leaving Ivira in her wake. "And don't even think about eavesdropping, Ivira. You shouldn't waste your power."

"Yeah well, I hope you get it from Ellora!" Ivira called after her.

"I'm sure I will." Noa muttered.

She reached the door that led to Ellora's room, and taking a deep breath, knocked gently on the wooden surface.

"You may come in." Came Ellora's voice.

Grasping the brass doorknob, Noa turned it and pulled open the door.

Ellora's room was large and airy. It faced to the east side of the house, so that the sun shone through her windows in the morning. The windows were draped in pale shades of blue and purple, and the walls were lined with tapestries, paintings and one wall was covered by a large bookcase from the floor to ceiling. The room's occupant sat on the purple and blue bed, reading a book. As Noa closed the door, Ellora looked up, and Noa was relieved to see that she did not look angry.

"Hi Ella." She said, calling her sister by her nickname.

"Come over here, Noa." Her sister told her, motioning to the bed.

Noa climbed up onto it, and sat cross-legged, facing her older sister.

"Now, why are you here?" Ellora asked her.

"Because Ivira said you wanted to see me."

Ellora nodded. "Ah, yes. Ivira would know about that, wouldn't she?"

"She's getting worse, you know." Noa told her.

Her sister waved her hand. "Yes. I know. But right now, we're talking about you." She looked into Noa's face. "So, would you care to explain where you were all day long?"

"I went out into the city. I met with Zephyr, and we spent the day together. I didn't think you'd worry too much." Noa told her, her face completely straight.

"The guards said you left the city in the morning."

"Well, yes. We went for a ride, and we didn't get back until about half-an-hour ago."

Ellora looked critically at her, as if deciding whether to believe her story or not.

"I'm sorry, if I had known you'd worry this much, I would have told you where we were going."

Ellora pursed her lips. "Well…"

"You're not going to mind-read me, are you?" Noa asked her.

Ellora shook her head. "No, of course not, you know I wouldn't do that." She paused, and then went on. "It's just, I worry about you Noa. You almost never tell me anything, and you're always going out by yourself. I just wish, I just wish you would tell me what's going on."

"I'm sorry, Ellora." She said. And truly, Noa was sorry. Ever since their parents had died, seven years ago, Ellora had struggled to act as mother and father to her two younger sisters. But coupled with the duties she had as a priestess, as well as her own loneliness, she hadn't been able to be with them much. As a result of this, Noa had pulled more and more inside herself, while Ivira had started sneaking around more and more, as no one ever told her anything. Despite all this, Ellora had held her sisters together, and had worked until she was able to provide a good life for them. Noa hated to cause her sister worry, but she usually made her worry more than anyone else.

Ellora smiled, and brushed Noa's hair out of her eyes. "Oh, Noa. Whatever will I do with you?" She pulled her sister into a tight hug, which Noa returned. They held each other for a minute then, Ellora pulled back and smiled at her. "Now, you've had a long day, so you should probably go and lay down until dinner, alright?"

Noa nodded. "Alright Ella." She slid off the bed, and crossed over to the door. Just before she left, she turned back. "I love you Ella."

"I love you too, Noa."

Noa opened the door and left, pulling it shut behind her. "I'm sorry Ellora." She whispered. "I'm so sorry."

It was midnight, and everything in the city of Anemos was still. Even the guards on top of the wall dozed, not paying attention to much. The only thing that moved was a shadow across the yard of the house of the high priestess.

Noa crept quietly across the courtyard, trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible. Slung across her back was the sword Megaera had given her, and in her arms was a bag that held a change of clothes, a bedroll, a bag full of money, and anything else she had thought useful. She reached the stables, and as quickly as she could, entered in.

They were quiet, and smelled of horses and straw. She went to where her horse, a palomino stallion named Ciro, slept. Quickly, she woke him up. He whickered softly as if asking why his mistress had roused him so late at night, but stood patiently as she saddled him, and as quietly as she could, led him out of the stables, across the yard, through the side door, and out into the alley beyond. Still walking, Noa led her horse through the numerous side streets and alleys in Anemos. Finally, after fifteen minutes of quick walking, she found what she was looking for.

It was the one of the canal entrances into the city. The canals ran all around the city, providing water for its citizens. There were many coming from all directions. The build was simple: a tunnel with walkways on both sides, and an iron gate across the canal to keep anything from getting in or out. The only way through was a small iron gate, big enough for one person to fit through. For Noa, however, it was enough. This canal entrance was old, and no one paid attention to it anymore. The gate was rusted, and old. Perfect for sneaking through. As Noa approached the gate however, a voice came from behind.

"Going somewhere, Noa?"

She spun around, startled. There was no one there.

Then the shadows shifted, and suddenly Zephyr was standing there, an unreadable expression on his face. "A bit late to be going on a nighttime ride, isn't it?"

"Zephyr, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, Noa. I thought you were leaving in a day or two?" He raised his eyebrows. "Or were you lying?"

"Yeah, I was lying. I was planning on leaving tonight."

"Why?" He asked her, that same unreadable expression on.

She looked straight at him. "Because no one can know what I have to do. Not Ellora, not Ivira, not even you Zephyr."

"Why not?"

"Because you wouldn't understand." Noa told him.

"I understand that you're leaving your only two family members left in this world alone, without an explanation."

Noa glared at him. "I didn't leave without an explanation!"

"Then they know what you're up to?"

"They will tomorrow, when they find the letters. But by then, I'll be gone."

"That's rather selfish, Noa."

"I'm leaving Zephyr, and you're not stopping me."

He gave her a sad smile then. "I know. I just wanted to know why you had to leave like this."

She looked down. "I, Zephyr, I'm going to do something horrible, and you can't be involved."

"What do you have to do that's so horrible?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

She looked up, tears streaming down her face. "I'm going to seal alchemy away, Zephyr. I'm going to end this paradise. It's me Ellora spoke about in the prophecy. It's me who's going to end it. And you can't come, because, because you're too, you're too good." She ended in a sob.

"And you're not?" He asked gently.

"Look at what I'm going to do, Zephyr! Look at what I'm planning!"

"I have, Noa. And if this is what the gods have ordered, then it must be done. This will not end the world, this will save it. I suppose you have not heard the rest of the prophecy."

She looked up at him. "The rest of the prophecy?"

"You know of the shortened version, the one that Ellora allowed the city to hear. But the real prophecy holds more."

"What does it say?"

"Here, why don't you read it for yourself." He told her. Then reaching into his robes, he pulled out two scrolls. He handed them to her.

With shaking hands, Noa unrolled the first scroll. It read:_The age of Alchemy must end. The foolishness of men will bring it about. Four warriors will rise. With their powers combined, the beacons will dim, the stars will be sealed, and the golden sun will set. Ultimately, they are the ones who will bring about the age of man. And ultimately they will be the ones who save the world. Even though the world will rage against them and their quest, they are the ones who will be the salvation of __Weyard_

"You see? You're not evil, Noa. Nor is your quest evil. In fact you are the one who will save us all."

"Ella knew didn't she? She knew it would be me."

"I believe so. She never said it out loud, but she alluded to it enough."

A warmth spread through Noa. "Then, what's this?" She asked, looking at the second scroll.

"A copy of the most detailed map I could find, along a letter to let you get a ship this late at night."

"How'd you know I would be leaving tonight?"

Zephyr shrugged. "It's not in your nature to stay still once you've got a goal." He told her.

She was quiet for a long moment. "Thank you Zephyr."

He smiled. "There's no need to thank me, Noa. I'm doing what I can. I only wish I could do more."

Noa then did something unexpected. She ran forward and threw her arms around him. "Goodbye Zephyr."

He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close for a few short moments. "Goodbye Noa. Be safe."

"I will."

They stepped back, and Zephyr smiled sadly at her. "You'd better go before someone finds us."

Noa nodded, and turned back to the rusted gate. Holding her hand up, she concentrated her psyenergy into her hand. "Slash." She said. At once, a blade formed of circling winds appeared in her hand, and she shot it outward at the gate, it sliced through the rusted bars effortlessly. With a soft clatter, they fell to the ground. She strode forward, leading Ciro with her. Before she passed through the gate, she threw one last glance back, but Zephyr was already gone. Then, steeling herself for whatever lay ahead, she turned and walked forward through the gate.

_Footnotes:_

_The __port__ of __Atteka__: The only way to get from __Atteka__ to the other continents is too take a ship out of the port, or go through one of the rivers out of __Atteka__. In the game you are provided with a ship, but __Noa__ will have to pay for passage on one._

_Mind-Reading: One of the most basic powers of a Jupiter Adept is mind-reading. If a __jupiter__ adept joins powers with another adept they too can mind read._

_Ciro__: Means Ancient Egyptian Wind in Greek. Why is it an ancient Egyptian wind? Don't ask me. He's a palomino __cause__ I think palomino horses are pretty!_

_Cloak: A certain __psyenergy__ that allows the user to cloak themselves in shadow, basically becoming invisible. It wears off when you step into light. In the game you have to have the cloak ball in order to use this move. However like I said earlier all moves that need the item to use them can be used naturally, without the item._

_Slash: A wind __psyenergy__ attack. You can use it in the game if you are a certain class. However, like with items, __Noa__ and company will be able to use any __psyenergy__ attack they need to. (Also technically, you can't use Slash outside of battle)_


	5. Chapter 5

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter Five

_Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long to update! School and all has been really busy. Anyway, thanks to everybody who read and reviewed. Everybody else please PLEASE tell me what you think! Again to my anonymous reviewer, you bring up a very valid point. But I haven't played the game in a while, so I couldn't remember if that was the world before alchemy was sealed or not. For the sake of the story (And since I've already written a lot in the world of the game), I will be keeping the game map, but the continents will be larger, and a bit different. Please excuse this mistake. Thanks._

_Disclaimer: Noa, and all other characters are mine. Everything else belongs to the game Golden Sun and whoever created it._

Noa reached the port after a few hours of easy riding. Quietly she approached the dockmaster's house, and knocked firmly on the door. There was a few minutes of silence, then the sound of stumbling as someone approached the door, and the muttering of a stream of curses. Then the door was opened half-way, and the gruff-faced dockmaster appeared holding a candle.

"What do you want?" He barked, irritated. "Don't you know what time it is? The port's closed until tomorrow morning, so scram!"

"Excuse me, sir." Noa told. "But I have a letter from the first assistant to the Great Healer of Anemos. This is urgent." She held out the letter to the man, who snatched it out her hands, and ripped it open.

She watched as his eyes scanned it, reading over what Zephyr had written. He glanced from the letter to Noa, then back to the letter again. "Girl, there is no one who will take you before sunrise." He told her.

"But I must. It's urgent." She told him. "I can pay my own fare, and it's only me and my horse."

'That doesn't matter. No one here is going to go out of their way to take you!"

"Then give me a rowboat and I'll go alone!" She said, frustrated.

He laughed. "You? Go out on your own in a rowboat?"

"Yes! If that's what it takes to get a boat around here!"

He threw his hands in the air. "Fine! There is one man who might be willing to take you."

"Where is he?"

"Slow down, I'll take you to him. Just let me warn you, he doesn't come cheap."

Noa shrugged. "I can deal with that."

"Then come on."

He led her down the dock at a quick speed, Noa hurrying to keep up. They passed a number of boats of all sorts with their crews asleep or in various states of a drunken stupor. Finally at the end of the dock they came upon a junk. It was dark, save for a single lantern hung from the mast. "Anybody up there?"

In response there came a laugh, and a girl dressed in black pants, shirt, and boots jumped from where she had been perched on the side of the boat to the dock. A scarf was tied around her head, hiding her hair, but her eyes sparkled blue. She had unusually pale skin "Hey there, dockmaster!"

"Where's Qing Yuan?"

"Asleep inside." The girl told him.

"Well wake him up; I need to talk to him."

"No need, I'm already awake." A voice came from behind the girl.

Noa peered into the darkness behind the girl to see who the voice had come from, and a young man leapt down from the side of the boat.

He too was dressed from head to toe in black, but his head was bare. He had thick, long black hair that had been pulled back, and black almond shaped eyes that held a fierce intensity.

The girl tuned to him and smiled. "Captain!"

"Lynna, you're on guard duty, correct?"

"Yes that's right!"

The young man, who Noa presumed to be Qing Yuan, sighed, and waved his hand at the ship. "Then go find something to guard."

"Yes, Captain." Turning, she took a running leap, and grabbed onto the railing of the junk. Then, in a single, fluid motion, she pulled herself up, and swung her legs over the railing and onto the deck.

Noa was impressed. It was a far jump, and the girl had made it in a single leap.

After watching her disappear over the rail, Qing Yuan turned back to Noa and the dockmaster. "Now, what can I do for you, Rodney?"

Rodney eyed Noa, and then turned back to Qing Yuan. "This girl here needs passage to Angara, now."

Qing Yuan looked at Rodney. "Now?"

He shrugged. "She insists it's urgent."

"What's so urgent about it?" Qing Yuan directed the question at Noa.

"I've been sent by the Great Healer to deliver an urgent message to the Great Healer in the village of Vale in Angara."

"You're a little young to be sent off on missions by yourself aren't you?" He asked.

She raised her eyebrows. "And you're a little young to own your own ship aren't you?"

He laughed. "I can't argue with that! Alright, listen girl,"

"My name is Noa."

"Then Noa. Listen, I will take you as far as I can to Vale for the price of 20,000 gold."

"That's rather expensive."

Qing Yuan shrugged. "It's rather far, and," He pointed to Ciro. "You've got a horse."

Noa thought for a moment, considering all her choices. On the one hand she could wait until morning and risk being caught by Ellora, or she could pay this man's price. "Alright then, I'll pay your price."

Qing Yuan smiled. "Welcome aboard the Ulysses."

"Lynna!" Qing Yuan called as he came on board the boat, Noa following, with Ciro close behind.

"Here!" Lynna slid off the railing and ran over to Qing Yuan.

"Go wake up Kenda and Troy. We're leaving."

Her eyes went wide. "What? Right now?"

"Yes, right now. Get on it!" He turned to Noa. "Now, about my money."

Noa sighed. "I can only pay you half right now."

Qing Yuan shrugged. "I'll take that if you work on the ship."

"I've never actually sailed before." She admitted.

"You'll learn." He led her over to the door to the cargo hold. "We've got a special place in there for livestock, but I've never used it, so…" He trailed off.

"That'll be alright." Noa told him.

At that moment there was a noise of a door opening and a cranky voice sounded.

"Qing Yuan! What the heck is going on?"

Noa turned to see a boy standing there. He wore a plain white shirt and pale blue shorts, and was rubbing at his blue eyes. Noa was surprised to see that the boy's hair, which was cut short, was pure white. His skin, like Lynna's was strangely pale.

"Just get up on deck, Troy." Another voice sounded from behind the boy.

Troy, still rubbing his eyes moved up onto the deck letting the girl behind him come into the circle of light cast by the lantern.

Her skin, in contrast to Lynna and Troy's, was a deep, dark brown. Her hair was black and seemed to shine in the light. It was braided into a myriad of small braids which had been pulled back into a ponytail that hung midway down her back. She was yawning. However, she was fully dressed in the black outfit that seemed to be the uniform for the ship.

Lynna followed behind her, ushering the other two forward. When they were all up on deck, Lynna took her place beside Troy. Noa was surprised to see that they were obviously twins. They looked almost exactly alike.

As soon as they had lined up, Qing Yuan began talking. "You're probably wondering why I have woken you up in the middle of the night."

"Yeah, I'd like that explained." Troy interrupted. "Cause, if you can't tell, I'm really ti-OW!" He yelled as both girls stamped on his feet.

"Shush, Troy! The captain's explaining." Lynna told her brother.

"If you'd stay quiet, you'd know why we're awake." The dark girl reprimanded.

Troy shot them both dark glares, but fell silent.

"Anyway, as I was saying, we're leaving."

"What? Leaving? Why?" Troy asked.

The dark girl was surprised as well. "We're leaving right now?"

Qing Yuan nodded. "That's right, we're sailing to Angara."

"Angara? I thought we were headed next to the Apoji."

"Change of plans. We've got a passenger."

For the first time Troy and the girl noticed Noa.

Qing Yuan motioned to his three crew members. "Noa, this is my crew. My first mate, Kenda," he motioned to the dark girl, "Our gunner, Troy, and you've already met Lynna."

Noa bowed. "Hello. My name is Noa. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"We're going to be taking Noa to Angara." Qing Yuan told his crew. "And we're leaving now. So get to it. I want this ship out of the port in less than an hour. Let's move!"

Kenda, Troy, and Lynna all began moving at once. Qing Yuan turned to Noa. "Come on, I'll show you where you can put your horse."

Half-an-hour later, the ship Ulysses was pulling out of the Atteka port and set out into the waters of the ocean.

After she had situated Ciro in a small, but serviceable stall, Qing Yuan had shown her to a small room, which consisted of a hammock, and a chest for her things.

"This is where you'll sleep." He told her. "It's probably much smaller than you're used too, but we don't have a whole lot of room on this ship as it is."

"This is alright." Noa said.

"When you're all unpacked, come up to the deck."

She nodded, and he turned and left her alone.

She opened the chest, and began to put her belongings inside. When she reached her sword, she paused, considering, then put it into the chest as well. Closing the lid, she stood up and left for the deck.

When she reached the deck, Noa looked for Qing Yuan, but didn't see him anywhere. Troy, now in his black clothing, was holding the tiller steady, and Lynna was scampering up and down the sails and ship like a monkey, tying down a rope here, letting some air in there, and tying oil lanterns to everything. But as for Kenda and Qing Yuan, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Um, excuse me?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" Lynna suddenly appeared dangling in front of her face, a rope wrapped around one ankle.

"Ah!"

Lynna giggled. "Did I scare you? I'm sorry." She reached up with her hands and untied the rope, gracefully dropping to the deck in front of Noa. "What is it?" She asked.

"Um, I was wondering where Qing Yuan was." Noa told her.

"Qing Yuan's in his cabin with Kenda. They're charting our course." Troy told her from the tiller.

"Oh. Well, Qing Yuan told me to come up here when I was done putting my things away."

Lynna nodded. "That's right! You're going to be learning from me and Troy." She giggled. "I hope you're not afraid of heights."

Noa shook her head. "No, not really."

"Good!" Lynna turned back to the rope. "Let me finish with this." Then grabbing onto the rope, she began to pull herself up until she was back hanging up lanterns.

"So you're from Anemos?" Troy asked her.

Noa nodded. "Yes, that's right." She paused. "So where are you two from?"

Troy shrugged. "You've probably never heard of it."

"Well, then tell me about it."

"We're from Kalt Island." He told her. "It's a very tiny island, very far north. It's the last place you can stop before you reach the northern ice fields."

"How many people live there?"

"Not very many, probably less than two hundred. We would have more, but many people leave. You can't really blame them either. Kalt Island is harsh, and the winter is even harsher."

"And does everybody have hair like yours?"

Lynna, who had come down from the mast answered that question. "Oh yes! Everybody looks like us."

"On Kalt Island, there are only three months where the ground is not frozen. We are trapped most of the time in winter. We get very weak sunlight, and not much of it anyway. Because of this, everybody there has pale hair and, skin." Troy explained.

"Oh…" She paused. "So, how did you meet Qing Yuan?"

Lynna giggled again. "We saved his life!"

"Really?"

"Yes! The Captain came to Kalt Island because his boat was caught in a storm at sea, and he was blown off course to our island. His ship crashed into the beach. Troy and I found him and Kenda on the beach freezing to death!"

"They weren't freezing to death." Troy corrected.

"Okay, they were just knocked out, same thing." Lynna replied, perturbed.

"Not really."

"They were about to freeze to death."

"Anyway," Troy continued. "We took them back to the village. When they woke up, Qing Yuan invited us to join his crew."

"We've been with him and Kenda ever since." Lynna finished.

"Have you…ever regretted leaving your home?" Noa asked.

"No." They replied at the same time. They looked at each other, and then back at Noa. "Never." They replied simultaneously.

At that moment Qing Yuan appeared back on the deck with Kenda. "Alright, are we out of the bay yet?"

Troy called down from his post. "Yeah, we left the bay a few minutes ago."

Qing Yuan quickly ascended the steps. "Then I'll take the tiller. You go help Lynna." They switched places, and jumping up on the rail, Troy balanced skillfully for a second before leaping down.

"Alright, here we go!" Lynna called excitedly. "To Angara!"

_Footnotes:_

_Junk:_ _a flat-bottomed sailing boat, popular in Chinese waters, that is high at the stern and has squarish sails, each supported on several battens._

_Qing Yuan and crew: Qing Yuan and his crew are from all over the world of Weyard. And since they are sailors, I went ahead and gave them all names that have something to do with water. 'Qing Yuan' means deep water or clear spring in Chinese, 'Kenda' means child of clear, cool water in English, 'Lynna' means waterfall in English, and 'Troy' means water in Celtic/Gaelic. Qing Yuan and his crew are all original characters, and will show up from time to time. (Oh, by the way, 'Rodney' means land near the water in English.)_

_Ship's Uniforms-Yes, all black would be very hot, but hey. Annway, the styles are basically the same for the girl's and the boy's, however, the girl's shirts are corset shirts with sleeves. (Or whatever you call the shirt that looks like a corset.) They lace up in the back, but don't squeeze the air out of you. The boy's have regular shirts. Lynna picked out the shirts for both her and Kenda._

_Ulysses: This is the name of one of the summons from the game. She is a wandering mage from the island of Izumo. Since Qing Yuan is from Izumo he named his ship after her._

_The Apoji Islands: A group of tropical islands on the eastern edge of Weyard. They exist hanging on the very edge of the world. In the game, they are home to Aqua Rock._

_Gunner: As the name suggests, a gunner is the person who operates the guns on a ship. Qing Yuan's ship is quite small, so they only have a few. (And yes, junk ships do not usually carry cannons.)_

_Kalt Island: A small island in the far north. The last place you can visit before going on to Prox and the Mars Lighthouse. In the game, there is a single settlement on it. It is very, very, nondescript_

_Izumo: Mentioned in the footnotes above, Izumo is an island with an ancient Japanese style culture. They have a sacred mountain, Mount Mikado which is also Gaia Rock. (And yes, I realize that Qing Yuan is a Chinese name. Get over it.)_


	6. Chapter 6

Golden Sun: Age of Light

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter six

_Author's Note: Man, I'm awful at updating. You have good reason to be angry at me for taking so long. SORRY! Anyway, as to the questions in the review yes they will be shooting at something, but what you'll have to wait. As far as Ulysses is concerned. The small summary in the game does say that it is a wandering mage, and since you receive the summon in Izumo that's where I said it'd be from. I kinda think Odysseus is a jerk anyways. But that's my opinion._

_Disclaimer: Noa, and all other characters are mine. Everything else belongs to the game Golden Sun and whoever created it._

Chapter Six

_Noa stood in a long hallway made of white marble. There was only one exit: a golden door at the end of the hall. Seeing no other way out, she began to walk towards the door. Finally reaching it, she grasped the ornate handle and pulled the door open._

"Well it took you long enough." Came a familiar voice.

_Noa looked around. To her surprise, the goddess Megaera was sitting on a raised dais to her left._

Seeing her confusion, Megaera rolled her eyes, an expression of annoyance flitting across her exquisite face. "To get here I mean."

_"But, where is here?" Noa asked her confused._

"Where do you think?" The goddess countered.

_"Am I dreaming?"_

Megaera sighed. "Listen, I told you to learn how to use it didn't I?"

_"Use it?"_

"The sword! I told you to learn how to use the sword! You haven't even unsheathed it since that first time."

_"I'm sorry. It's just, I've been…"_

Megaera waved her hand. "I don't want excuses. I gave you that sword for a reason. I gave it to you so that you could complete the task required of you by the prophecy. I did not give it to you to leave lying in a trunk in a boat!"

_Noa glared. She was tired of this goddess treating her like she was useless. "Look, I've been trying my best to get to Vale, which is where you told me to go! I haven't been able to use it because I haven't had time! I'm trying to do this the fastest way I can. I'm only one girl! If you want this done so bad, then you do it!" She stopped as she suddenly noticed that Megaera had a small smile on her face._

"Huh. Maybe you do have what it takes after all. Learn how to use the sword, Noa. It'll help you out." Megaera jumped down from her perch on the dais. "Now, go back to sleep. You should get ready. Something's coming."

_The room wavered, then disappeared._

Noa sat up, looking around, still expecting to see the marble hall around her. She found herself in the small cabin that had been her home for the past week and a half. The ship rocked gently, but she couldn't get back to sleep. Sighing, she swung her legs off the bed, and stood up. She reached for the door handle, but then paused. Glancing at the chest in the corner of the small room, she hesitated, then turning, bent down and undid the latch.

Noa lifted the lid, and gazed at what lay within. On top of the clothes, the money, the map, and everything she had brought lay the sword. It looked plain enough in it's sheath, but Noa knew the truth. Bending down, she picked it up, feeling its weight in her hand. It was impossibly light, it didn't even feel like she held a blade. She drew it out of its sheath, and held it, the blade laying flat across her hands.

_The goddess told me to learn how to use it, but what is there to learn? I already know how to use a sword. And what did she mean, something's coming?_

Sighing, she took hold of the hilt once again, and tilted it, about to put it back in its sheath. Suddenly she stopped. For a second, she had thought she had seen something on the blade.

Noa tilted it slowly once more. As the light caught the blade, she stopped. _There!_ The light illuminating the blade, she could make out runes that she had not been able to see before. Noa studied them closely, trying to read what they said.

_"Wielder of wind's might. Those who read these words, here this name and know. I am Veata."_

"Veata?"

Suddenly the pommel stone shone with a bright, purple light. It traveled up the hilt and into the blade until the entire length of the sword was shining. Then a wind seemed to explode out from the blade.

"Wh-what's going on?"

There was a quick laugh. "So you've finally called my name! I've been waiting for this day!" The wind died down. "C'mon, adept. Open your eyes!"

Noa hesitantly opened one eye, and then the other. Floating above in the air of the small cabin, was a girl, maybe about her age. She had long silvery-blue hair and wore a short sleeveless silvery blue tunic with dark blue pants. Her eyes were purple.

"Who are you?"

The girl laughed again. "Didn't you just call my name?"

"Huh?"

"Man, you sure are slow!" The girl reached down with one semi-transparent hand and touched the blade of the sword that Noa held. "My name is Veata. I am the spirit of this sword."

"The spirit of the sword?" Noa asked. "I don't understand."

Veata laughed. "When Lady Megaera created this sword, she made a deal with me as well, and made this sword my home."

"Your home?"

"That is correct."

"What is the deal you made with her?"

"If I serve Megaera and the owner of this sword for five-hundred years, I will be set free, not as a mere spirit, but as one of the great winds."

"Five-hundred years? That's crazy!"

Veata laughed again. "What's five-hundred years to a spirit? Time passes as quickly for me as it does slowly for you. Anyway, discussing boring details of a contract isn't fun. Why did you call me, master?"

Noa looked sheepishly down at the sword. "In all honesty, I didn't know I was calling you. I was just reading the runes on the blade."

"What?" Veata looked closely at her. "Didn't Lady Megaera tell you anything?"

"Um, well, no. She gave me the sword and told me to learn how to use it."

Veata sighed. "Alright then, allow me to explain. Since this sword is my home, whenever you call my name, I will appear to aid you, in or out of battle. Since I am a wind spirit of my own right, I can strengthen your abilities and help you to learn new ones. Any questions?"

Noa shook her head. "No."

"Excellent. Now, adept, what is your name?"

"I'm Noa."

"Thank you for calling my name, Noa."

"You're welcome."

"Captain! Captain! Where are we today?" Lynna's voice came from the rigging.

Qing Yuan answered from where he stood at the tiller. "We're coming up around the tip of Gondowan. In a few days we should be in Naribwe."

"Will we be stopping there for long?" Kenda asked.

Qing Yuan shook his head. "No, we won't be there for more than a day."

Kenda looked off. "I see."

"Kenda, if you want, we can stop by for a few days on the way back." Qing Yuan told her.

"No, that's alright. We should continue on." She told him with a smile.

At that moment, the door to the cabins opened, and Noa came out.

Unlike the days before, she wore her sword, wrapped in its cloth, strapped across her back. She looked around, with a bit of a worried expression on her face, then smoothing out her features closed the door behind her.

"Good morning Noa!" Lynna called out.

Noa smiled. "Good morning to you Lynna."

Troy poked his head out from below decks. "Oi! Qing Yuan!"

"What is it?"

"We're fresh out of most everything."

"Can we make it to Naribwe?"

Troy ducked back down, and called from below. "Maybe. Probably. Most likely. In a best case scenario, yes."

"And in a worst case?"

"No. We'll have to skip about maybe two or three meals."

"Well, that shouldn't be too bad…" He trailed off when he noticed that both Kenda and Troy were looking at him. "Look, glaring isn't going to do anything about it. If you don't want to go hungry, then we'd better hurry up and get to Naribwe."

They both sighed. "Right."

He then directed his attention towards Noa. "Hello, Noa."

She gave a short bow. "Hello Captain."

He motioned to the sword on her back. "I don't think I've ever seen that before."

"Yes well, I don't know why I have it out today…it's just…" She trailed off.

"Just what?"

"I just have this feeling…that's all." There was a pause, then she asked, "So how far off are we from Angara?"

"Well, we're about three days from the Southern Coast of Angara. From there, we'll turn East, and continue along the coast until we reach Ankhol. We'll have to leave you there."

"I see."

He continued on. "If you want to reach Vale, from Ankhol I believe that you'll need to travel north over the mountains. I hear that travelers often travel with caravans in order to reach their destination safely. You could probably just join up with one of them."

"Have you ever been to Vale Qing Yuan?"

He shook his head. "No, never. I've heard many stories about it though."

"Stories? What kind of stories?"

Qing Yuan stared at her, a bit surprised. "Don't tell me you've never heard any of the stories about Vale."

Noa laughed. "Until about a week ago, I didn't even know it existed."

"Well there are many legends surrounding Vale." He began. "They speak of the powerful adepts that live there. But there are certain legends about the mountain that they guard. Mount Aleph. It's considered sacred in many places over the world. It is said that at the top there is a sanctuary of some sort, but I don't know, Noa?"

Noa had gone very still, as she felt something surge through her, like a wind that only she could feel.

"Noa? Noa are you alright?"

"Something…" She whispered. "Something is coming…"

They were suddenly interrupted by Lynna. "Captain!" There was an unusual note of urgency in her voice. "There's a ship approaching off the starboard side!"

Instantly Qing Yuan was on guard. "What? Can you see what kind of ship it is? Has it spotted us?"

Noa, Kenda and Troy all looked up at Lynna.

Lynna, as usual, was up in the rigging, but now she had a spyglass in her hands, looking through it. "I don't think they've spotted us yet, but one minute, I can't see the flag from this angle." She went higher.

"Well?"

Lynna looked down, her pale face even paler than usual. "Captain! It's the Sea Wolf!"

"The Sea Wolf? What's it doing in these waters? It shouldn't be roaming around here."

Noa looked at Kenda. "What's the Sea Wolf?"

"It's a pirate galleon. Its crew is one of the most bloodthirsty in this world. And the captain is the worse."

"The captain? Who's that?"

It was Troy that answered. "Captain Wayde Wolfhound. A cruel and ruthless man. He cares for no one, and will stop at nothing once he has decided upon his target." There was a pause. "If we are caught by this man…" Troy trailed off.

"If we are caught by this man, there is no way we will survive." Qing Yuan finished.

"But, why would he want to catch you?" Noa asked. "I mean, it's not like you could be carrying some fabulous treasure, right?"

All four crew members looked at each other nervously. "Well, that would be true in other circumstances, but…" Lynna trailed off.

"But what?"

"The truth is, we're not exactly on his good side."

"What?"

"About maybe a year ago…we ran into the Sea Wolf when we were trying to acquire…. a …certain item. Captain Wayde wanted this item as well, but we managed to get our hands on it first. As a result we've been on the run from him since." Kenda explained.

Noa looked at them. "But why hasn't he caught up to you in the past year?"

Qing Yuan shook his head. "We don't have the time to be discussing this! Troy, Kenda, Lynna, we're getting out of here, let's go!"

All three members of the crew instantly went about, unfurling this sail, tying down that rope.

Qing Yuan looked down at Noa. "Noa,"

"Yes, captain?"

"You're a Jupiter adept, right?"

She nodded.

"I really hate to ask you this, but could you summon a wind or something? Anything to get us out of here."

"I can do that." She looked at the sails critically. "But you might want to tell Lynna to stand back." Then, placing her hand palm down on the deck, she spoke, "Whirlwind." As she lifted her hand slowly off the deck, a spiraling current of air came up with it, turning faster and faster, until finally, she released it, and it shot upward, hitting the sails, and filling them with air. The ship shot forward at this sudden unexpected wind. Noa held her hands steadily outward, making sure the whirlwind didn't get out of control. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder, and saw that they were quickly pulling away from the Sea Wolf.

"Noa!" Qing Yuan called over the noise of her wind. "How long can you keep this up?"

She didn't answer immediately, thinking. "If you really need it, an hour at the most, that's as long as I can safely hold it." Noa told him.

Troy, ever the pessimist, shook his head. "That's not going to be enough, Qing Yuan."

It'll have to be enough." Qing Yuan told him. "Let's go!"

_Footnotes:_

_Chapter six, yay! And we have the reappearance of Megaera! I must say, I do enjoy writing about her, and (gasp!) a band of ruthless cutthroat pirates! Oh no!_

_Veata: The name of Noa's sword is finally revealed. The full name is la Veata Sabre. (The Wind Saber) Veata means 'wind' in Cambodian. Veata, lives inside the sword. She has ever since Megaera created it. Veata is also an original character. She is not in the game, nor is Noa's sword. (I think I mentioned that before…) Veata is rather like an upgraded djinn (elemental spirit)._

_Gondowan-Gondowan is the continent directly east of Hesperia and Atteka. It is shaped rather like South America, and the people who live in it are varied. In the north they resemble middle easterners. In the more southern regions they resemble more South American and African people. North Gondowan is also home to the Venus Lighthouse, and Magma Rock, and Lalivero, the town in the game that Sheba comes from._

_Angara-The north most continent before you reach the ice fields. It is home to Vale, Sol Sanctum, Mercury Lighthouse, etc. It is also where six of the eight main characters in the games come from. Felix, Jenna, Garet, Issac, Ivan, and Mia all come from Angara. Only Piers and Sheba come from a different continent._

_Starboard-The right side of a boat. Port is the left side. Bow is the back, and stern is the front._

_Captain Wayde-Give a hand of applause to our first real bad guy! He might or might not show up again after this first encounter. I haven't decided yet. By the way, Wayde means 'cross the water' in English._

_Whirlwind-A basic power of Jupiter Adepts is to create whirlwinds which can be used to do a number of things. In this instance, Noa uses it to get them out of a rather sticky situation._

_Troy and Qing Yuan-Troy, being the surly kid he is, always calls Qing Yuan by his name and never Captain. Kenda and Lynna always call Qing Yuan 'Captain'._


	7. Chapter 7

Golden Sun: Age of Light

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter Seven

_Author's Note: YAY CHAPTER SEVEN IS DONE! Finally! I'll have chapter eight out shortly so please wait. It's currently in the works. For the item that Wayde wants, they still might have it, they might not! You'll just have to wait and find out. _

_Disclaimer: Noa, and all other characters are mine. Everything else belongs to the game Golden Sun and whoever created it._

Chapter Seven

Aboard the Sea Wolf, Captain Wayde Wolfhound stood looking out over the vast ocean, resplendent in his power. He was tall, standing at 6'7 and radiated power and strength. He wore his dark hair cut short so that it wouldn't get in the way of his work. His clothes consisted of a long red captain's coat, a fine blue silk shirt, black pants, highly polished boots, and the large double-headed war-axe strapped across his back.

Around him, his crew milled, doing their tasks. They didn't dare not to. They respected and feared the man who stood at the stern. They all knew that if they hesitated to obey, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them.

Next to Wayde stood his first mate, a man by the name of Dalit. He was shorter than his captain, but no less dangerous.

"Dalit, what am I supposed to be seeing?" Wayde asked.

Dalit pointed his finger out over the sea. "Darya spotted a ship over that way a little while ago. She says it's a junk. On this next wave you should be able to see it…there!"

Wayde's sharp blue eyes squinted slightly as reaching inside his coat, he pulled out a brass telescope. Holding it up to his eye, he studied the ship for a minute. Then his face broke into a wide, feral smile.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't our old friends."

Dalit didn't respond. He knew that look, and he knew what was coming next. Being the man who had been with Wayde the longest, he knew. That look meant death for whoever he was chasing.

"Dalit, tack on every piece of sail we have. I want that ship caught, and I want it done today."

His first mate nodded, and turning began shouting orders at the crew.

Wayde, however didn't hear anything. His entire being was concentrated on that small junk, bobbing up and down in the waves. That ship was going to pay for the humiliation it had caused him. They had been lucky, but now that they were back in his waters, their luck had run out. The hunt was on!

Lynna twisted in the rigging and stared out across the waves. "Captain! We've been spotted! The Sea Wolf is gaining!"

Qing Yuan didn't look back. He stared straight forward concentrating hard on a spot out to sea. "Kenda!" He suddenly barked.

"Captain?"

"Take the tiller, and hold her steady."

Kenda quickly switched places with her captain. Qing Yuan jumped down and pulled the door to his cabin open. He disappeared inside, and returned a few minutes later with what seemed to be a thick tube of bamboo, an exotic plant that Noa had only seen once when a merchant had come to Anemos from a place called Xian. It was about a foot and a half long and was plugged up with wax at both ends. Noa noticed that runes for containment had been carven into the wax. Letting her attention go for an instant she focused on the bamboo in Qing Yuan's hand.

"Reveal." She whispered. She then had to quickly shut her eyes at the blaze of white light that emitted from the bamboo tube. Squinting, Noa could see that the runes on each end were shining with a steady bright light. She then noticed that the sides of the tube were shining with unreadable runes. Whatever was in that tube, it was obvious that Qing Yuan didn't want it getting out anytime soon.

"Noa, can you keep up the whirlwind a bit longer?" Qing Yuan asked her.

Closing her eyes she reopened them and concentrated once again on her creation. "Yes, don't worry."

"Alright then, listen up! Here's the plan." Qing Yuan pointed out towards the west. "That way is land, if we can make it to the shore without being followed, then we can hide in one of the coves."

"But Captain," Kenda protested, "There's no way we can make it to land without being followed by the Sea Wolf."

Lynna waved her hand. "Don't say things like that, Kenda. That's Troy's job."

"Kenda's right," Qing Yuan continued. "Under normal circumstances, we'd never make it. And that's why we're sailing into that." He changed the direction he was pointing, now to the northwest where Noa could see a dark mass of clouds starting to form in the sky.

"You want us to sail into a typhoon?!" Kenda and Troy yelled.

Qing Yuan nodded.

Noa said nothing. The captain was up to something.

"That's practically suicide!" Kenda told him.

"No Kenda," Troy corrected. "It IS suicide."

"So what happens when we enter the storm?" Noa asked. Everyone turned to look at her, then at Qing Yuan. He smiled.

"Glad you asked, Noa. That's when we use this." He held up the tube.

"You're going to use that to get away?" Lynna asked. "But, Captain, it was really expensive!"

"That doesn't matter, Lynna. We bought this so we could use it, and I believe that this is the right time." He turned to his other two crew members. "What do you think."

There was a light in Kenda's eyes. "It's crazy. We'll probably all end up dead at the bottom of the sea. It's reckless, and dangerous. Let's do it!"

Troy shook his head. "I guess we don't have much of a choice."

"Um, excuse me, but what's in there?" Noa interrupted, nodding at the tube.

All the crew grinned. "You'll find out soon enough." Qing Yuan told her.

Wayde stood in his cabin, checking his charts. If they were lucky they could deal with the problem of the Ulysses before nightfall, and have just enough time to make it to shore for the night. There was a knock on the door. "Enter." Wayde called without looking up.

Dalit opened the door and cleared his throat respectfully.

"What is it, Dalit?"

"Darya says that the junk has changed course. They're headed northwest now."

Wayde looked up at his first mate. "So change our course."

"Captain, there's a problem."

Wayde began to feel a bit impatient. "What's the problem, then?"

"You'd best come see for yourself, Captain."

Sighing heavily, Wayde stood and walked over to Dalit who quickly stood by to let him out first. "So what's the problem Dalit?" He asked as they came to stand on the deck.

"That, Captain." Dalit motioned out to the northwest.

Wayde looked in the direction his first mate had mentioned, and narrowed his eyes. A huge bank of dark impenetrable clouds hung low and threatening above the ocean. "And you say the Ulysses is headed straight for it?"

"Yes Captain."

"What are you up to, little ship?" Wayde muttered.

"What should we do, Captain?" Dalit asked, half-knowing what was already coming.

We're sailing after them. If we can't catch them before they reach the storm, then we'll batten down all the hatches, and ride it out. Do you know why our ship can do that, Dalit?"

"Um…no Captain."

"Simple really, Dalit, our ship is large enough to ride it out. However, Captain Qing Yuan and his little crew can't. Their ship is far too small. If they think they can escape in the storm, they're in for a nasty surprise." He paused, smiling. "If the storm doesn't kill them, then they won't go very far. Tell the crew to change course, Dalit."

Dalit nodded. "Yes Captian."

Noa was breathing heavily now, her eyes stinging from the sweat that dripped into them. Sometime during the period she had been standing there, Lynna had tied a rope around her waist, and secured her to the mast. The small part of her mind that wasn't wholly concentrated on keeping the whirlwind in place began to notice that the wind had picked up and that the sky had begun to turn the darkening gray-black of a storm. The wind blew with more strength than it had before, spraying seawater higher and higher over the sides of the ship.

Noa shook her head and focused on her whirlwind. To her dismay she found that it had already begun to shrink. Concentrating harder, Noa tried to draw anymore power than she already had, but found that there was next to nothing left in her reserves. She had already gone beyond her limit, but she couldn't stop. Not when they were so close…

She suddenly felt the deck topple backwards as she fell, but before she could hit the deck, she felt two slender arms catch her.

"Whoa there. You okay?" Kenda's dark face swam above Noa's at, what seemed to her, a dizzying height.

Noa tried to answer, but found her throat was completely dry, she couldn't talk at all, then her eyes rolled back and everything went dark.

Kenda cursed when she saw that Noa had blacked out. This was not a good time. The wind was blowing harder than ever, and she had to crouch low to stay upright. "Troy, c'mere!" She called.

There was the sound of pounding feet, and the pale gunner was there. He looked down at Noa. "What happened to her, Kenda?"

"It looks like she used to much of her power. She held that whirlwind for much to long. We'll need to wake her up."

"Why? Wouldn't it be better to let her rest?"

Kenda looked up, her dark eyes serious. "When an adept uses too much of their power, they black out. If they aren't woken, they could die."

Troy's pale face blanched. "What do I need to do?"

"Go get my bag out of my room. It should be in my trunk on the top."

"Right." And with that, Troy was gone.

Kenda gently laid Noa out on the deck. She checked her pulse, and was relieved to find a faint but steady heartbeat.

Above the whistling of the wind, she heard Qing Yuan call, "Is she alright?"

"At the moment, no, but I think she'll be alright." Kenda yelled back."

"Kenda!" Troy's voice came. "Here!" Troy came running up, carrying a medium sized black bag.

"Good. Troy get me out the blue glass jar out of the second pocket."

"Right!"

"Alright, give it to me and hold your nose."

"Why?"

"You'll see, or smell it if you don't." Kenda told him as she struggled with the stopper. Finally it came loose, and pinching her nose with one hand, Kenda removed the stopper and held the small bottle under Noa's nose.

At first, nothing happened, but then suddenly, Noa's purple eyes flew open and she began to cough and hack.

Kenda quickly removed the bottle, and carefully shoved the stopper into the opening again.

"Are you alright Noa?" She asked the adept.

Thor's bones! What was that?" Noa asked, half-coughing, half-speaking. Her eyes were watering, and she blinked rapidly, sending salty tears down her face.

"The sap of the aviea vine. It's said that the smell of it can wake the dead." Kenda told her calmly as she replaced the blue jar into it's proper place in her bag.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Noa replied still coughing.

Troy took Kenda's bag from her and made his way back over to the cabin door, disappearing from sight.

Kenda helped Noa into a sitting position, and leaned her against the railing of the ship. "Stay here. It's almost time."

Captain Wade didn't like what was going on. The wind was beginning to pick up, they still hadn't caught up with his prey, and now it was doing something unexpected. "Dalit!"

As if from nowhere, his first mate appeared at his side. "Captain?"

"Why haven't we caught them yet?"

"Darya has reported that there seems to be a whirlwind on board, fueling the ship with a stronger wind."

"A whirlwind?"

"Darya also reported that there was somebody controlling it."

"An adept then. With a whirlwind, probably from Anemos."

Dalit nodded in agreement.

"Now Dalit, what do you think they're doing?"

"It looks like they're sailing into the storm, Captain."

"I can see that. But why? For them, it would be suicide."

"Captain if you don't mind my saying so, Qing Yuan has always been very cautious. He probably has an escape plan."

"I agree, but what?"

"Captain, the storm is getting closer, we need to begin battening down the ship."

"Very well, but continue the chase until it becomes impossible."

He turned and strode towards his cabin. Dalit watched him go.

"Madness to sail into a storm like this, should have jumped ship at the last port." A voice to the left of Dalit muttered.

Dalit turned slowly, hard eyes locking with the eyes of the speaker. The man in question froze.

Dalit walked up to the man, still staring directly into his eyes. "You think it's madness to sail into this storm?"

The man swallowed, and then, finding courage, spoke up. "Of course it is! One wrong move and we're all dead! The captain's crazy an-" He was cut off by Dalit thrusting his cutlass into the man's stomach.

As he pulled his blade free, the man toppled to the ground, eyes and mouth still open in shock. Dalit contemptuously wiped his blade on the man's garment, and sheathed his sword.

"If anyone else has a problem with the captain's plans, please don't hesitate to voice them." Dalit told them.

Nobody moved.

"Get rid of it." Dalit stepped around the body of the dead man and started making his way towards the helm. Of course the man had been right. The captain was crazy. In all reality, he was a madman who loved hunting and killing any and all that stood in his way. However, almost no one realized this. Madness was only a handicap if you couldn't control its irrationalities, and the captain certainly could. Still, he couldn't have anyone saying things about the captain like that.

He motioned to the helmsman that he would take over the steering of the ship, and the helmsman happily obliged, perfectly willing to get as far away from this man who was as equally crazy as his captain.

Quing Yuan struggled to hold the tiller straight in the wind that blasted against his small ship. The waves had grown dangerously tall, and threatened to swamp the boat at any given moment. The wind tore at the sails, threatening to rip them to pieces. As it was, they should have already been stowed, but Qing Yuan had told Lynna to wait. It was finally time. Pitching his voice so that it could be heard over the wind, he yelled. "Kenda! Troy!"

Miraculously, they heard and came, fighting the wind, both of them with their lifelines securely fastened to the mast.

"Keep the ship on course. I'm going to do it now."

They both nodded, and took the wheel from his hands. He began making his way slowly towards the mast of the ship.

Noa watched Qing Yuan from where she sat, completely exhausted. She could barely move, and she didn't want to. Lynna had joined her, and had wrapped one of Noa's limp hands around the railing of the deck, and held her other hand tightly. As it was, the wind had become so hard that Qing Yuan couldn't move very far without being blown back a step or two. Finally, he stopped, and reaching inside his jacket, pulled out the bamboo tube.

Now was the time! Qing Yuan smiled. If they survived this, he would definitely have to leave incense at the shrine of Neptune. He held the tube tightly in one hand, feeling the power that swirled inside it. He didn't know if it knew it was being released or if it was just its nature, but it seemed agitated more than usual. "Here goes nothing." _And a small fortune in gold._ He thought. "HANG ON!" He yelled out to his crew. Whipping out his wrist knife he stabbed it deep into the wax. The psyenergy that was in the wood shone brightly and before it could melt the blade off his knife he yelled, "_RELEASE!_"

He pulled the knife out, the stopper coming with it, followed by a roar as a blast of wind flew out of the tube, struck the sails, and sent the small ship skipping across the waves, practically airborne.

One hand gripping the tube and the other, holding onto his lifeline, Qing Yuan struggled to keep his footing. But the force of the released wind was to great and he slipped and fell on his backside, still stubbornly pointing the opening in the tube at the sails.

Kenda and Troy held on to the tiller for all they were worth as the ship flew through the waves, propelled by the contained wind. Keeping the ship on a course of due west, they both scanned the horizon for any hint of land. After a few minutes, Troy's hand shot out, pointing at the almost invisible gray smudge.

"There!"

Kenda nodded, and kept the tiller straight on course.

They were moving so fast that soon, the land which should have taken half an hour to reach was upon them in a matter of minutes. As the cliffs of Gondowan loomed close, Kenda spun the wheel changing the ship's course to follow that of the cliffs.

By now the wind inside the tube had all but diminished, and the ship followed a much smoother, slower course. Finally, they spotted what they were looking for. An opening in the rock wall, so small it that the normal person couldn't even imagine a ship fitting through it.

But, spinning the wheel once again, Kenda and Troy maneuvered the ship through the crack in the wall, and into a small cove just as the first drops of rain began to fall.

_Footnotes: Three cheers for Captain Wayde! The crazy pirate captain! I must say, he reminds me a lot of Bellamy the Hyena from One Piece in appearance, and crazy temperment now that I read over this again. (I did not base him off Bellamy in anyway, however.)_

_Dalit and Wayde's crew-Dalit means 'Draw water' in Hebrew. Darya, name of the lookout, means 'River or sea' in Persian. (Just to let you know, Wayde hails from Indra, Dalit from north Gondowan, and Darya from the coast of Angara.)_

_Reveal: One of the most useful psyenergy in the game. It is strictly limited to Jupiter adepts. When you use it you see the unseen. Mostly you use it to see hidden entrances, treasures. Here, Noa uses it to see psyenergy._

_Neptune: One of the summons from the game. He is a Mercury summon, and labeled as an incarnation of the Sea King. Here he serves as the Sea King and protector of sailors._


	8. Chapter 8

Golden Sun: Age of Light

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter Eight

_Author's Note: Chapter Eight! Wow, this one took a long time to get up. Sorry about that. My internet's been on the fritz. It's really annoying. Thanks to everyone for reviewing, and please continue to enjoy Noa's adventures!_

_Disclaimer: Noa, and all other characters are mine. Everything else belongs to the game Golden Sun and whoever created it._

Chapter Eight

The sun beat down on the small cove, warming the water and the small junk that lay anchored right off the shore. Five people lay collapsed in different places around the deck of the junk. Two girls leaned against the starboard railing, one hand each wrapped around the wood of the ship. A boy lay against the door to the cabin, a tube of bamboo limp in his hand, and a girl and a boy lay against the wheel, all five still.

A curious seagull came down to investigate. Perching on the mast crossbars it eyed the sleeping forms with bright eyes. Seeing nothing amiss it glided down to land in front of the black-haired young man. Hopping forward it pecked his hand then quickly hopped back.

The young man slumbered on.

Emboldened by its success it came forward once again and gave his hand a hard sharp peck.

He twitched.

It was about to peck for a third time when out of the blue, the young man's other hand slashed sharply down. There was a loud 'thwack!', and the seagull keeled over, having been brained by the bamboo tube.

Qing Yuan woke up first. Sitting up, he stretched, and was a bit surprised when he felt his hand hit something feathery. Looking down, he saw a seagull lying beside his hand. Qing Yuan was not a man to question a gift from the gods. Smiling he stood and called out to his crew.

"Wake up! We've got breakfast!"

--

Noa woke to the smell of cooking meat. Groggily she sat up looking around. She was still on the deck of the ship which rocked gently back and forth on the waves. Looking around, she realized that they must be in a small cove or inlet of some sort. They were surrounded on all sides by high mountain cliffs, except for the cove shore which was a thin strip of sand that circled the cove like a crescent moon, and the equally thin strip of trees right behind it. Suddenly she realized something; she was completely alone on the deck. Then she heard someone laugh.

Standing up she made her way over to the other side of the ship and looked out onto the beach.

Over a small, smokeless fire Qing Yuan turned a makeshift spit on which something roasted. Lynna had one of the sails spread out across her lap, and with quick deft movements, she patched it together. Kenda was spreading out the contents of a black bag out across the sand, taking inventory. Troy was nowhere to be seen.

Qing Yuan suddenly waved at her and called out. "Noa! You're awake! We've got food!"

Locating the rope ladder that the others had used to disembark, Noa swung her legs over the side of the ship and slowly began making her way down, careful of her still sore body.

When she splashed into the shallows, she began making her way towards the three figures on the shore.

She waded onto the beach and groaned as she sat down in the sand beside Kenda.

"Good morning, Noa!" Lynna chimed.

The dark skinned girl smiled. "How are you feeling this morning, Noa?"

"Awful. I feel like I was thrown off the Lighthouse Aerie." She told her.

Kenda nodded. "You'll be sore for a day or so." She looked at her, her dark eyes serious. "You kept that whirlwind going for far too long."

Noa sighed. "I know, but I had too. If I didn't then we'd have been captured right?"

The older girl rolled her eyes. "That's no reason to go and kill yourself. Next time, think about the consequences of your actions a little more." She paused, measuring out some liquid into a small cup. "And here, drink this."

"Yes mother." Noa told her meekly. She took the cup and drank, almost spitting out the foul tasting liquid. With difficulty she swallowed. "Blegh! Do all you medicines taste bad?"

"Yes." Lynna and Qing Yuan chorused together.

Kenda shot them a glare, which quickly made them return to their chores. "If medicine doesn't taste bad, it's not doing its job." She told Noa matter-of-factly. "If it tasted good, then people would want to be sick all the time."

Noa laughed.

"Hey!"

They all looked over. Troy was coming out of the trees, a basket on his back. As soon as he got closer to them, he swung it down off his back, and set it on the ground beside Lynna. He then flopped down beside his twin.

"Lazy, that's what you are. Here I am, trying to get enough food, so we don't starve, and here you all are, sitting on your behinds."

Lynna beamed at her twin. "We are working, Troy! Thank you for getting the food." She focused once again on her sewing.

Qing Yuan smiled. "Yes, I love you too."

The pale boy glared. "Shut up."

Without looking up, Lynna reached over and smacked her twin across the head. "Don't be rude to the Captain, Troy."

"OW! Lynna! Why'd you do that?!"

"Sisterly love?"

"Whatever that was, it was NOT sisterly love!"

Before Lynna could come up with a suitable response, Kenda interrupted. "So, Troy, what'd you get?"

Troy pulled over his basket and pulled off the lid. It was filled to the brim with all manner of fruit, some of which Noa recognized, some she didn't.

"So now, with our seabird given to us by the gods, we'll have a feast!" Qing Yuan told the four.

Noa looked uneasily over at the fire. "Seabird?"

"Do you not like seabird?" The black-haired captain asked.

"Oh, well, no it's just, I've never had it."

"Really?"

Noa sighed. "In Anemos, birds are sacred creatures. We do not eat them, nor is anyone allowed to keep one as a pet."

"But I heard that there were almost as many birds in Anemos as people."

The wind adept nodded. "Yes, that is true. For some reasons, the birds are drawn there. We're not sure if it's because of the power of Jupiter Lighthouse, or if it's something else. Many birds live with people in complete harmony. When I was a little girl, there was a bird that would always come to my room every night. It was a nightingale."

Lynna stared, still sewing. "So, it came and left when it wanted too?"

"Yes. I would feed it and give it a place to stay, but in the morning it would always be gone."

"That's amazing!"

"You think so?"

Before they could continue however, Qing Yuan interrupted. "Enough talk, let's eat."

They all began to divvy out the food. As they began to eat, Noa sat aside her apple.

"There's something I have to ask you." She told them.

They all looked at her, food half-way to their mouths.

"Just who are you?"

--

"You know I dislike using this method." Captain Wayde told the figure in front of him. "But my prey has disappeared, and I have no choice. Well? What do you see?" Wayde asked.

The person he spoke to was no longer recognizable as such. Sightless white eyes stared out of the shrunken and shriveled head. The rest of the body was in much the same condition. Thin and emaciated, what was left of the person was draped in a dirty

cloth that was more a rag than anything else. But still, the mouth opened and in a thin rasping voice, it spoke.

"A cove like a crescent moon. A ship lies moored there. A-" But here he stopped.

"A what? What do you see?"

"A girl." He paused. "She is protected by a force greater than yours. She is-" He stopped here, and a rasping noise escaped his lips. It took Wayde a few moments to realize that it was laughter. "She is the one who will free the bird." He continued to laugh as Wayde strode out of the brig, slamming the door behind him. Dalit who had been waiting outside strode to catch up with his captain.

"What did the kid have to say?" Dalit asked.

"They're hiding in one of the coves along the Gondowan cliffs. We'll catch them like the rats they are." The laughter echoed after them, down the hall.

--

Noa watched as Qing Yuan and his crew traded glances.

"As much as I appreciate your transportation of me, I have to know. You guys aren't just ordinary sailors, are you?"

"What makes you think that?" Qing Yuan asked her.

"The sealing of a wind inside a container is highly dangerous, not only to the adept but also to the one who carries it. Because of this, it is a strictly forbidden practice. The only way you could possibly get one, or even afford to get one would be to deal with people who do not regard the law." Noa explained. "And there's something else I've been wondering. What could you have that this Captain Wayde would want? I think after last night, I'd have the right to know."

The four were silent, contemplating what she had said.

Finally Qing Yuan sighed. "Alright Noa. You're right. We're not ordinary sailors." He silenced a mutter from Troy with a single glance. "And you do deserve to know the truth, but right now is not the time."

"Why not?"

"We're not safe yet. Wayde could find us at any time. That little trick of ours last night won't hide us for very long. The wind was against us for most of it, and we didn't get as far as I would have liked. The Sea Wolf is also faster when it tacks on all it's sails. Until we're in Naribwe, or better yet Kibombo," At this Kenda threw him a sharp glance which he ignored. "We really don't have time to discuss this. I promise that we will tell you. Will you wait?"

Noa nodded.

"Then let's hurry, eat, and ship out. The less time we spend here, the better."

He turned to Troy. "How are the guns?"

"Ready to be fired anytime."

"Good. We're probably going to need them."

--

"We need more precise directions. Tell me where they are."

"The cove lies two leagues northeast." The boy replied in his rasp of a voice.

Wayde turned to leave then paused. "What did you mean about the girl?"

"Exactly what I said."

"What is this greater power?"

"The eyes of the adepts cannot see everything. That gift is reserved for no one. Not even the gods."

"What about the bird?"

The boy smiled, his cracked lips creating a ghastly image against his skin. "Exactly what I said."

Wayde stared hard at him for a few more moments, and then once again left, the boy's dead smile following him out the door.

--

It was afternoon. The sun shone down on the cove, warming the sand of the small beach. Noa picked up a basket of fruit that she had helped to gather. Qing Yuan had insisted on restocking their supplies before leaving. As he had put it, they needed supplies if they were going to escape the Sea Wolf, so he had sent the crew and Noa searching for food.

As she began to slosh back through the shallows towards the ship, a thousand questions thoughts running through her head. As she reached the ship, she passed her basket up to Troy, who hung halfway down the ladder, and turning went back for more.

Reaching the shore, she grabbed a particularly large barrel, and tried to lift it, but found it was far too heavy.

"Here, let me help you with that." Kenda's strong brown arms wrapped around one side and lifted it up.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Actually we should be thanking you." She looked at Noa seriously. "Without your help last night, we would have never made it."

Noa shrugged. "Just doing what I can." They continued on through the water, holding the barrel as high as they could. "So, Kenda."

"Yes?"

"What is Kibombo anyway?"

Kenda paused, causing Noa to almost drop the barrel. She sighed. "I knew you'd want answers sooner rather than later. But have you really never heard of the Kibombo?"

"No. I've heard of Naribwe once, but never Kibombo."

Hoisting her side of the barrel again, they once more began walking while Kenda talked.

"Kibombo isn't a what. It's a who, and a where. It's a city deep in the jungles of Gondowan. The people there worship the great spirit of Gabomba."

"Gabomba?"

Kenda nodded. "Yes, the Gabomba is an ancient spirit, born at the dawn of creation. Or so the stories go."

They had reached the ship. Troy lowered a rope net which they wrapped around the barrel. As the two boys hauled it up the side of the ship, Kenda looked back.

"Well, that's everything then. Let's head out."

She quickly climbed the ladder, followed by Noa.

"I suppose you want to know more about it."

"If you don't mind."

Kenda shrugged as she leaned against the rail, watching the shrinking beach. "There's not much to tell. The Kibombo live with their whole lives centered on the Great Gabomba and the witchdoctor."

"Witchdoctor? You mean like a shaman or an adept?"

She leaned back, one hand on the rail. "Well, I don't know about adept. The witchdoctor uses, more, like, a spiritual power than an elemental one."

Noa was quiet for a moment, taking in what Kenda had told her. "You know a great deal about the Kibombo."

"Naturally." Kenda replied. "After all, it is my hometown."

"Hey Kenda! Stop chatting! We need hel-OW! What was that for?!" Troy yelled.

"You need to be more polite." Noa heard Lynna tell her twin.

"Coming!" Kenda called. Excusing herself from Noa, she made her way quickly to the mast, leaving Noa to ponder what she had said.

--

"The bird is waiting. It's been waiting. Waiting for so long. Longer than you can even imagine." He twisted his head up towards the tiny window." Come to me, God touched. I've been waiting for so long. So long to play my part. Such a long dark time." He closed his eyes, the feeble sunlight touching on his sunken cheeks.

--

"Have you spotted them?" Wayde asked Dalit.

"Yes, Captain. They'll be coming out of the cove any minute now."

"Good. Tell the crew to prepare for boarding."

"Captain." He turned and left the cabin, closing the door behind him.

Wayde's face broke into a grin. "Time's up, Qing Yuan."

--

Noa leaned against the warm wood of the railing, fighting to keep her eyes open. She was still very tired from her ordeal the day before, and knew she probably should be resting. Still she tried to stay awake, watching as the waves passed beneath the ship, and the shadow of the cliff walls of the cove fell over her.

A picture suddenly appeared before her eyes. _A tall dark-haired man with a feral smile. Qing Yuan and the crew bloodied and in chains. A small dark room with a small round window. A sunken face, like that of a dead person._

_"You shouldn't be here." The sunken face told her. "You're in danger."_

Noa came out of the vision as suddenly as she had entered it. She turned towards the helm. "Qing Yuan! We're in danger!" She yelled as she drew her sword.

But it was too late. The boat was already passing out through the mouth of the cove, straight into the waiting Sea Wolf.

_Footnotes:_

_Seabird: If people can eat, walk, drive, cook, read, and do all manner of things in their sleep, why can't Qing Yuan brain pesky seabirds in his?_

_Birds in Anemos: As far as this is concerned, I figured that since one of their gods is a bird, Jupiter adepts wouldn't eat birds. So birds are now sacred in Anemos!_

_The Kibombo: What, Kenda is from the Kibombo? Well, yeah. There's more to it than what she tells Noa though. Anyway, Kibombo is a village in the game located in central Gondowan. The Kibombo are a warlike people, but they calm down after they get a new witchdoctor. It's really annoying to get into. But the Great Gabomba statue cut scenes are fun to watch._


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

_Author's Note: Hello! Chapter Nine! This chapter was just one big headache after another, but it's up now! Hope you enjoy it!_

_Much thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are the BEST!!_

_Disclaimer: All characters belong to me. Everything else belongs to the guys who made the Golden Sun game._

Chapter Nine

As Qing Yuan watched the huge ship rear up towards them, his mind went instantly on high alert. "EVASIVE ACTION!!" He roared, spinning the wheel hard to port.

But it was far too late for that. The Sea Wolf crashed into the Ulysses sending tremors through the deck that almost knocked the crew off their feet.

Qing Yuan wasted no time in waiting for the enemy to attack. "Troy!"

"Yeah?"

"FIRE AT WILL!"  
"Right!" Grabbing a long thin rod which smoked at one end, Troy quickly placed it against the openings of the three cannons on the port side.

"EAT GRAPE SHOT, SCUMBAGS!" He yelled.

There were three explosions one after another as the deadly shrapnel flew through the air, ripping into the wooden sides of the Sea Wolf. Still, it wasn't enough to stop the larger, sturdier ship.

There were loud cries, and pirates armed to the teeth with cutlasses, knives, axes, and all manner of weapons swung down from the deck of the Sea Wolf. A bloody battle quickly ensued.

Noa found herself facing off against a large heavyset man who was swinging a deadly looking broadsword. She was barely able to lift up her sword in time to block it. In her weakened state the force of the blow jarred her, almost bringing her to her knees. Pushing back, she knew that she couldn't hold this force forever.

The pirate pushed back, grinning. He was larger and had more strength. It was apparent who would walk away alive. There was a sudden yell, and out of no where Lynna vaulted over Noa's shoulder, knocking the pirate back with a kick to the face. Spinning quickly, Lynna thrust one of the long knives in her hands into his back. Pulling it free she looked at Noa. "You okay?" Noa nodded, still a bit in shock from the speed at which it had happened. Lynna seemed totally unaffected by the dead man lying at her feet. "C'mon. Stick with me!"

They battled their way over to where Qing Yuan and Kenda fought. Qing Yuan took out enemies with a practiced ease, expertly swinging the slim slightly curved blade he held. Kenda almost seemed transformed as she wielded a heavy looking spear with both hands. Where she had gotten it, Noa had no idea.

"Where's Troy?" Lynna yelled as they reached the captain and first mate.

At that moment there was the noise of an explosion and three of the enemies crew flew off the deck having been blasted back by an attack from Troy.

"He seems to be doing fine." Qing Yuan observed dryly.

"Captain! We've got to get out of here!" Kenda yelled as she dispatched another pirate. "We can't keep this up! There's only five of us!"

"Got any good ideas then? Cause I'm fresh out!" He replied.

Suddenly Noa remembered something. "Stand back! I've got one!" Holding her sword out in front of her she accessed her psyenergy. The blade she held began to glow with a soft steady light which grew brighter and brighter. The fight seemed to pause as the air around the Jupiter adept began to fill with energy.

Kenda's eyes widened. "Noa! You're still too weak! Don't do anything foolish!"

But it was to late. Noa opened her mouth and yelled. "VEATA!" With a roar, wind exploded outward from the girl. The crew braced themselves but found it was unnecessary. While they could hear the wind and even feel it rushing past them, and while they could see it blowing the pirates of the Sea Wolf around like paper dolls it didn't touch them. As suddenly as it had come, the wind was gone leaving them and the lone adept standing amidst a crowd of stunned and bowled over pirates.

Noa slumped forward breathing with exhaustion.

"Noa!" She heard Qing Yuan and the others yell.

"I'm fine." She managed to gasp. "Get, get us out of here."

"Oh, I'm afraid it's far too late for that." A strong male voice came from overhead. Looking up, Noa found the source. It was a tale dark haired man with hard blue eyes, like two chips of ice which had been placed into the sockets instead of eyes. But that was not what interested Noa. It was the pale boy the man held, a knife, pressed to his throat.

--

"TROY!!" Lynna screamed in terror.

Qing Yuan could tell Troy was hurt. He gave a forced smile. "S-sorry Qing Yuan. I got caught."

Qing Yuan gritted his teeth. "Wayde."

The man smiled. It was a smile that made Qing Yuan shiver. "Qing Yuan. How are you?"

"Let him go!"

"Oh I think not. You see, I found him trying to blow the keel of my ship. We can't have that, can we?" He pressed on the blade gently just enough so that a thin trickle of blood, bright red against Troy's pale skin, ran down his neck.

"What do you want, Wayde? This isn't your style. You'd usually just kill him and have done with it." Qing Yuan's voice was calm, but his eyes flashed dangerously. If he killed him, there would be hell to pay for it.

"I'm hurt. Don't tell me you don't remember our last meeting?"

"Quite clearly."

"Then you'll also remember what you have which is rightfully mine."

"We don't have it anymore."

"Don't tell him anything, Qing Yuan!" Troy yelled. The blood running down his neck increased as his windpipe worked to form words.

"Troy!"

"Then I don't have use for him anymore." He prepared to dispatch of Troy.

"Wait!"

Wayde paused, and looked back at Qing Yuan.

"If you let him go, I'll tell you where it is."

The sea captain smiled. "There we go. That was easy wasn't it? But I'm afraid that that's not going to be enough." A shadow suddenly loomed over Qing Yuan, but it was too late. He suddenly felt a sharp blow to the back of his head, and the world went black.

--

"What do you want with me?" Noa snapped at the sea captain. It had roughly been four hours since she and the rest of the crew had been captured and brought aboard the Sea Wolf. She had not seen them since. Instead of being put in the brig with Qing Yuan and the others she had been handcuffed, her psyenergy sealed, and put in a small cabin room.

And now she found herself standing before the very man who had tried to kill them all. She was intimidated, yes, but she couldn't let him know that, so she stood tall and acted like she could care less about him.

The captain smiled a smile which held no warmth. "Now, don't be like that. I'm here to make you an offer."

Noa's eyes sharpened. "An offer? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I'm offering a chance for you to live."

"What?"  
"I've seen what you can do. You are obviously a very powerful adept. I want you to come and work for me. If you agree to this, I'll let you live. If you don't, then you'll die with Qing Yuan and his crew."

Noa was silent for a moment, her face set.

"Well, what do you say?"

"If you think that I'm scared of dying or that I'll take your offer just to save myself, then you're dead wrong! I'll never join you! I'll die before I do! So just try! I'll fight you till my dying breath, and Qing Yuan, Kenda, Lynna, Troy, and I will all leave together!" She stopped, breathing hard, surprised at even herself.

Instead of getting angry as she had though he would, the pirate's smile widened. "You've got spirit. That's good. It'll be that much more satisfying when you agree."

She opened her mouth, ready to spit out another fierce denial, but instead Wayde stood up, and came around the desk, and walking around her to the door, he opened it. "Dalit."

"Yes Captain?"

"Take this girl to the brig. Put her in the solitary cell."

"Yes Captain."

He turned back towards Noa. "I'll give you the night to think it over. You have until morning to give me your answer."

She glared, and drew herself back to her full height.

As the other man came to take her arm she sidestepped him and walked out on her own.

As she left the cabin, Dalit turned to his Captain. "I don't know about her, Captain. She's a little too headstrong in my opinion."

Wayde turned to Dalit. "Well then it's a good thing your opinion doesn't matter. What I say goes. Remember that."

Dalit nodded. "Yes sir."

Sitting back down, Wayde pulled a map towards him and began to inspect it. "Besides we'll be need a replacement soon. That kid isn't going to last much longer."

--

Noa sat in the solitary cell as comfortably as she could. It was hard when her hands were still cuffed behind her back, her backside numb from sitting on the wooden floor for to long, and her neck from being cramped inside the tiny cell.

Noa didn't know how many hours had gone by; just that it was now early nighttime. She had spent the day trying to think of ways to escape, but everything seemed impossible, there was no way to get the handcuffs off, no way to get out of the cell, and certainly no way to sneak away without getting caught.

She was still exhausted from the psyenergy she had done earlier, and soon enough she felt her eyelids sag as sleep crept closer and closer.

_Even though she was asleep she seemed to be awake. She looked down and saw her body below her as she floated in the air above. Miraculously the handcuffs seemed to be gone._

_'This way.'_

_The sudden voice should've startled her, but it seemed like she couldn't feel anything at the moment._

_It came again. 'This way.'_

_As if connected to the voice by an invisible cord, she stepped forward, through the iron bars of the cell and out into the corridor. Walking, or rather floating slowly she made her way down through the bowels of the ship, finally arriving at a heavy wooden door that was locked and bolted from the outside. Knowing that what she sought lay beyond the door, she stepped forward and went through the door as if it wasn't there._

_She found herself in a small cramped room, completely dark save for the small circular window set into the side through which the moonlight shone._

_'There you are, God-touched.'_

_Noa turned around to face the owner of the voice. If she could've felt an emotion at the moment, it would have been shock, and sorrow. Judging by the tone of the voice, the person who lay before her was still a young boy. Probably the same age as her sister, Ivira. She stepped forward, unsure of what the prisoner wanted._

_'Who are you?'_

_'One who has been waiting for a long, long time for you to come..'_

_'For me? But why?'_

_'I saw you. You are the one who will set me free.'_

_'You mean, you're an adept?'_

_The boy nodded. It seemed odd that he should be able to do it, he looked so dead. 'Yes, I'm an adept of Jupiter, just like you are, God-touched.'_

_'My name is Noa.'_

_He smiled, revealing a broken and chipped smile. 'I know. I saw that too. It's a pretty name.' He was still just a boy after all._

_'How long have you been here?'_

_He shrugged with what seemed to Noa, a massive effort. 'I don't know. You loose count after so long.'_

_'How old are you?'_

_Another shrug. 'Older than seven. That' s when I was taken.'_

_'What's your name?'_

_He looked up, his dead eyes locking with hers. 'Peregrine.' He looked over towards the door. 'You have to go back now.'_

_'But I-'_

_He smiled again. 'Don't worry. I'll get you out of your cell. They don't seal my psyenergy, cause then I can't see. Come and get me once you've rescued your friends.'_

She blinked, and opened her eyes, finding herself in her cell once again.

'_Noa, can you hear me?'_

It was his voice, inside her head. _'Yes.'_

_'Good, listen carefully. The seal on those handcuffs is weak. All you have to do is overpower it with your psyenergy. You should have enough by now to do that. Just concentrate your psyenergy onto the point where you feel the seal the strongest. You have to break it with a greater force than that.'_

_'Okay. I'll try.'_ Noa closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel the handcuffs seal cutting off her flow of power to her hands. She probed at the strange psyenergy, looking for the strongest point on them. She found it in the middle where the cuffs joined together to form one. That was easy enough. Now to break it. With her eyes still closed she reached inside herself until she found her psyenergy. She was pleased to find that it had come back quicker than she expected. She wasn't at full strength, but she wouldn't be useless in a fight, and she certainly could break the cuffs. Summoning it up, she began to concentrate harder and harder on the point in the cuffs.

Suddenly there was a snapping sound, and they broke down the middle. Finally able to move her arms again, she stretched them, trying to get the blood flowing properly again.

_Are you free?_

_Yes._

_Good. You should be able to get out of your cell now without to much trouble. After that, you should find your friends. They're in the large cell, which is close to mine._

Noa looked towards the lock. It was a simple thing, really. It shouldn't take to much force to break it, but she didn't have to much force left in her anyway. She'd have to be careful with this. She placed her palm directly against the locking mechanism. Concentrating, she redirected the flow of her psyenergy to her hand which began to glow with a soft inner light.

"Slash." The winds shot forward, directly into the lock, slicing it cleanly in two. She paused, listening for a moment. When she was satisfied that no one had heard her, she pushed the small door open, and crawled out. Creeping as quietly as she could, she began to peer into every cell, searching for the crew of the Ulysses. Suddenly she heard a voice and footsteps. Noa froze. There was no where to run. A light started to creep around the corner.

"I don't know why we have to do the rounds again. We just checked 'em not half an hour ago." Two pirates appeared around the corner. The speaker was a rough looking man. Walking next to him was a woman, who looked just as rough and cruel. It was she who held the lantern.

She shrugged. "Don't question it, Captain's orders. You know what he's like when he gets like this. Better off for everybody if you just do what he says."

The man scoffed. "I know that. Don't got to be tell-" He stopped, sighting Noa who stood in the middle of the dim hall. "Oi!" He drew his sword. "How'd you get out?!"

Noa held up her hand. She had no choice. "Sleep!" She commanded.

A strange look passed over both of the guards faces, and suddenly their eyes rolled back, and the crumpled to the ground as if they had been knocked out from behind. The lantern fell out of the woman's hand with a clatter, and Noa quickly grabbed it. She also removed the sword from the man's hands and a pair of knives that were strapped to the woman's belt.

Turning to go, she suddenly noticed a glint of gold from the man's belt, which she found to be a set of keys. Smiling, she quickly cut the rope that served as his belt and took them. "You won't be needing these for a while." She continued down the hall.

_You're not too bad at the whole sneaking around thing. _He commented suddenly.

Noa shrugged mentally._ Your point?_

_None. Just commenting. By the way, you're very near your friends cell._

_Thanks._

She came to another set of doors. She very carefully knocked on one of them, and whispered. "It's me, Noa? Are you guys in there?"

"Noa?"

It was Lynna's voice. It came from not the cell she had knocked on, but the one across from it. Noa spun around, and hurried to the door. "Lynna? Are you in there? Are the others with you?"

"Noa, is it really you? How'd you get out? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm okay. Troy and Kenda are in here too."

"Are they alright?"

Kenda's voice came in through the door. "We're okay. Troy's a little beat up, but he'll be fine."

"Where's Qing Yuan?"

There was a silence. "We don't know where the Captain is. He was put in a different cell."

"Alright, well, I'm gonna get you guys out. Hold on." Fumbling with the keys, she began to try one after the other, until finally after eight keys, it turned and she heard the lock click. Pulling the door open, she came face to face with the three crew members.

Lynna was sitting near the door, while Kenda had Troy sitting against the wall in the back. All three looked worse for the wear, but they were alive.

Lynna looked like she was going to cry. "Oh Noa!" She got unsteadily to her feet, and threw her arms around the surprised adept. "We were so worried. We thought Wayde was going to kill you!"

Noa patter her back. "Now why would he do something like that? After all the trouble he took to offer me a job."

At this, Kenda and Troy looked up sharply, and Lynna drew back. "He offered you a job?" Lynna asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah, but I flat out refused him. I told him I'd rather die."

Kenda got to her feet shaking her head. "Noa, how many times do I have to tell you not to play with death?"

Noa laughed. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

"We don't know where Qing Yuan is. We can't leave without him." Troy reminded her.

Noa rolled her eyes. "Well of course we can't. Let's go!"

Lynna grabbed her twins hand and pulled him up, throwing his arm around her shoulders, and wrapping her own around his waist.

"I'll be fine Lynna." He told her.

"Don't listen to him Lynna. He shouldn't be walking on his right ankle." Kenda told her as she went through the door.

"I know Kenda. C'mon Troy. Let's find the Captain."

They all exited the cell, and Noa locked it back.

_Footnotes:_

_The crew's Weapons: The Kibombo seem to favor spears, so that's what Kenda got. As for Qing Yuan, he got a katana. Lynna got long knives, and Troy being the gunner gets explosives. By the way, the name of Qing Yuan's katana is Habaek. It's the name of a water god. It's Korean if I'm correct._

_Grape Shot vs. Regular Shot: Regular shot is just cannon balls. They punch through stuff. Compared to weapons, they're more bludgeoning weapons. Grape shot however, is particularly dangerous. Basically you stuff metal shards, nails, chain, etc, into the cannon and fire it. Grape shot rips through anything it hits. It's more like a bladed weapon._

_Keel: The keel is the main structural element of a ship. It runs from stern to bow and acts as the backbone of the ship. If the keel is broken, then the ship cannot be used anymore._

_Brig: Basically the prison of a ship. Usually one or two cells built of metal or wood used to hold prisoners captured during a voyage, etc._

_Mind-reading: The first useful psyenergy a Jupiter adept gets. You can use this to mind read anyone you like. It's completely useless in battle, but outside it's pretty fun. Other adepts, or people with high spiritual powers can tell when their mind is being read, and respond back if they wish._

_Peregrine: Named after the bird of prey, he is 13 years old._

'_Cause then I can't see': Whenever Peregrine refers to 'seeing' something he means a vision._

_Psyenergy Seal: Used in the game to seal off the enemies, or your, psyenergy. It lasts for a couple of turns and is great if you're the one sealing the powers. If you're not, it stinks. Technically, you can't use psyenergy at all when you have the seal on, but Noa's not really using psyenergy, she simply emits more than the seal can contain, thus breaking it. (I'm pretty sure I explained that in the chapter above. If I didn't, sorry.)_

_Sleep: A psyenergy which Jupiter adepts learn. In the game is causes the enemy to fall asleep by dropping a bunch of sheep on them! In this, they just fall asleep._


	10. Chapter 10

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

_Author's Note: Hello! Chapter Ten! So exciting! I've been really busy with school, but finally finished this chapter. Please enjoy!_

_Much thanks to everyone who reviewed! You are the BEST!!!_

_Disclaimer: All characters except Megaera and Atalanta belong to me. Everything else belongs to the guys who made the Golden Sun game._

Chapter Ten

_I had to change the rating for this chapter. No bedroom scenes, nothing like that. Just some violence, but that's about it._

_Megaera, goddess of justice, vengeance, and order, daughter of Catastrophe, and residential troublemaker of the ethereal realm stared down through the large mirror which lay on the floor. She was not pleased. Somebody was messing with her plans. Whoever it was, they'd better hope she never figured it out because they were going to feel her wrath._

_That pirate captain, what was his name, oh right, Wayde, was supposed to be no where near the place where he had run into the Ulysses. Somebody had directed him there. She slammed her fist down on the arm of her chair. WHO WAS MESSING UP HER PLANS?!?!_

"My, my. It doesn't suit a goddess to act so violently."

_Megaera grabbed one of her twin swords, and drew it, standing as she did so. _"What do you want?"

_The goddess before her smiled. _"Nothing. Just came to see how my favorite little sister was doing."

_Megaera glared. _"We are NOT sisters."

"You wound me, Megaera."

"I don't have time for you or your games."

_She shrugged. _"I'm not here to play."

_Megaera's gaze shot back to the mirror. _"Are you the one? Are you the one who's been interfering?"

"Why would I ever do that?"

"Because that's how you view the world. Like one big game for you to play in. But it's not! Those aren't just pawns down there to destroy to your liking! Those are people's lives!"

_Her smile turned mischevious. _"Oh? Just like you aren't using that little adept as your own pawn?"

"I'm not! She was chosen! It's her fate! I had nothing to do with it!"

"As you wish, Sister."

"Get out Eris. You're not supposed to be here."

"Ah, but you won't tell anyone, will you Megaera?"

"WATCH ME!!!"

_Her twin, goddess of chaos and discord, smiled once more before simply fading from sight. As she did so, her last words lingered in the air for Megaera to hear. _"I don't think so. But I will be watching that adept. After all, I do love a good game."

_As her voice too faded away, Megaera picked up her sword, and then with a sudden, violent, motion flung it. It slammed into one of the walls, and was driven into it until only a few inches of blade and the hilt showed. _"DON'T PLAY WITH ME ERIS!!! YOU _WILL_ REGRET IT IF YOU DO!!!!!"

---------------------------------------------------------------

_Noa, it's this one._

Noa stopped in front of one of the cell doors. As she did so, Lynna, Troy, and Kenda all stopped as well.

"Is this it?" Kenda asked.

"I think so. One moment." She began to insert different keys into the lock. After a few tried a few, one finally turned and she pulled the door open.

It was completely dark inside the cell, without even a window to provide moonlight. As she stepped in, Noa gagged as the smell hit her. Blood. The room stank of it. Covering her mouth and nose with one hand, she held up her other. Concentrating her psyenergy into it, it began to glow with a steady light. The sight that met their eyes made all four of them gasp. Qing Yuan stood upright facing away from them, with his arms chained straight out to the sides and his legs chained to the walls. Blood ran down his wrists and ankles from where the cold iron had cut into his limbs. His head was slumped forward with exhaustion. But that was not the worst of it. Qing Yuan's back was a bloody mess of torn flesh. He had been whipped without mercy.

A strangled sob tore from Kenda's throat, and she ran around to the other side. She grasped his face between her hands. "Qing Yuan! Qing Yuan speak to me! Qing Yuan! Please!"

A faint moan, no more than a sigh, escaped from his lips.

She looked up, desperate hope and tears in her eyes. "He's alive! Quick! We've got to get him loose."

Noa, Lynna, and Troy quickly made their way over. After a few minutes of fumbling with keys, cursing from Troy, and reprimands from Lynna, he was loose. Kenda eased him down to the floor, careful not to lay him on his back. "Noa?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you do something?"

Noa shook her head. "As much as I hate it, I have no healing psyenergy." She took off the thin overcoat she was wearing. "Here, use this." She tossed it to Kenda, who caught it and gently began wrapping it around Qing Yuan's wounds.

Lynna looked expectantly at Kenda. "What do we do?"

Kenda bit her lip.

"We've got to find a way out of here, free the ship, and escape."

Troy snorted. "That's a big order for just four people." He commented. "And just where will we go once we've escaped?" He asked.

Kenda's eyes hardened. "We'll go to the Kibombo. Wayde wouldn't dare follow us there."

There was a silence as Troy and Lynna stared at Kenda, shock written on their faces. After a moment, Lynna spoke up. "But, I though that you'd-" Lynna began.

"Does it really matter?" Kenda asked. "Kibombo is the closest safe place I can think of! Our captain will die if we don't get him out of here!"

Noa decided it was time that she step in. So she did. "Look. We don't have time to be arguing about this. We're on a dangerous mad pirate's ship, out of our cells with three wounded people out of the six of us! If Kibombo's the closest then we need to get there, fast."

Now all three crew members were looking at her, confused.

"Uh, Noa, there's only five of us." Troy told her.

"No, there are six of us. There is another prisoner who I have to save."

--

_Peregrine? Are you in there?_

She heard him give a mental sigh. _Noa, you should have left._

She shook her head. _No! I'm not leaving you in there!_

There was a silence. _Fine._

She grinned, and began the process of unlocking the door. Behind her The crew members waited, Qing Yuan still passed out on Kenda's back, and Lynna supporting Troy.

As the door creaked open, the twins and Kenda craned their necks to see who lay inside. There were three sharp intakes of breath.

Noa entered the cell, ignoring the reeking smell that emanated from the room. She walked over to where Peregrine sat and knelt down. "I don't suppose you're strong enough to walk?"

His mouth opened up, and he spoke in a raspy voice. "If I was, I would have left long ago."

"Then I'll carry you." She slid her arms under his knees and back and lifted him. It was pathetic how light he was. Standing up, Noa turned to face her friends. Kenda and Troy's mouths was in a thin line, and Lynna looked as though she were about to cry.

"This is Peregrine. He was the one who helped us escape. He's a Jupiter Adept like me." She explained.

Kenda nodded. "I hope you'll let me save my thanks." She told the skeletal boy. "We're not out of danger just yet."

"I fully agree with you, Daughter of Gabomba." Peregrine told her.

Kenda's eyes widened slightly, but she said nothing.

"So." Troy spoke up. "How do we get out of here? We need to move quickly. I don't want to be stuck here any longer than we have to be."

They were all silent for a moment thinking.

"All we need to do is get to the ship, cast off, and get away." Lynna went over the list.

"Yeah, and how are we going to do that without getting caught?" Her brother asked.

"Well I don't know! Why don't you try and come up with some brilliant idea?!"

A sudden thought came to Noa. "I could use cloak."

They all looked at her except for Peregrine. "What's cloak?"

"It's a psyenergy." Noa explained. "It allows the user and whoever they're casting it on to become invisible in the shadows."

"What happens if you're not in shadows?" Lynna queried.

"It wears off and you become visible again."

"Doesn't sound too effective." Troy commented skeptically.

"Well it's our only hope." Kenda told him as she readjusted Qing Yuan on her back. "As long as we can stay out of the light we can get out without getting caught!"

"Yeah, but what if Noa doesn't have enough power to get us out? And we've got to get our things." Troy reminded them.

Peregrine spoke up now, startling everybody into silence. "We can discuss 'what ifs' for hours I assure you. This is not a time for indecision. Dawn will be upon us shortly and Wayde is not a patient man. Either follow one plan or another, but choose now."

Lynna nodded. "Peregrine is right. We have to get out of here now. It's a miracle that we haven't been discovered yet."

"Alright. Here's the plan." Kenda began, taking up her role of first mate. "We'll all head back to the ship. We've got to get the boys on board before we think of anything else. After that's taken care of, Lynna and Noa will grab our gear and we'll make our escape." She looked up at her friends. "Does anybody have a problem with that?"

They all shook their heads.

"Alright. Let's move. We don't have long."

"Your belongings are in the armory of the lower decks. You should be able to get them even before you exit out on to the main deck." The emaciated adept informed them.

Kenda grinned. "Great. As soon as we're all on the ship, we'll make a break for it to the open sea."

"What if we're seen?" Troy asked seriously.

"Pray to your gods that we can make it out."

He sighed. "You know my gods don't take too kindly to me. They'd probably rain flaming rocks down upon our ship as well as this one."

"Don't be such a pessimist Troy."

--

The moon was low in the sky as the invisible group slowly crept onto the deck, Noa in the lead taking directions from Peregrine. It was the graveyard watch when everything was dead silent. Luckily for them there were only three guards out on the deck, and nobody near the entrance to the innards of the ship. Noa quickly cast sleep on all three guards.

They slunk around the sides of the ship in silence, nobody saying a word, keeping to the deep shadows and avoiding even the silvery light of the moon. They were able to safely reach the thick rope which ran from the Sea Wolf to the smaller Ulysses. Lynna suddenly appeared as she stepped forward, and leapt lightly onto the rope.

She reached out a pale hand, and was rewarded by the appearance of Troy's equally pale hand holding out their weapons except for Noa's sword which had already been fixed to her back. She took them and quickly made her way down the rope.

Troy was next. He pulled himself onto the rope, and twisted so he was hanging upside down by his knees and hands. He began to make his way back to the Ulysses, hand over hand.

Lynna waited until he had reached the deck, and swung himself safely onto it before she came back. Climbing off quickly, she crouched down and waited patiently as Kenda and Noa gently lashed Peregrine to her back. It had been difficult figuring out how to get Peregrine, who was to weak, and Qing Yuan, who was unconscious, to the Ulysses. Lynna had volunteered to carry Peregrine across, which the young adept had accepted, but the captain was another matter. He was too tall and too heavy for Lynna to carry him across, and Kenda didn't have the balance needed to tightrope walk with him on her back. Finally they had decided that swimming, while not the safest or the most sanitary in Qing Yuan's current condition, was the best option.

As Lynna made her way across with Peregrine, Kenda looped another rope around her and Qing Yuan, and waited for Lynna to come back.

--

_The goddess of chaos frowned as she watched the seven friends escape. No. This would never do. They weren't supposed to get away. That was no fun at all. She sighed. Why did she always have to do everything herself?_

_Focusing her mind on the sleeping form of Captain Wayde, she slipped out of her own body and down through the barrier and into the mortal world._

"Wake up Wayde. Your prey is escaping. Wake up now."

Blue eyes snapped open.

--

The gray light of predawn slowly spilled across the ocean to greet the two ships which rocked gently on the waves.

Noa bit her lip as she and Lynna finished lowering Kenda and Qing Yuan into the ocean. The psyenergy had long since worn off, and if anybody were to find them, it wouldn't be pretty. _Please, please, please just stay down!_ She willed.

_Noa._ Peregrine's voice sounded in her head suddenly. _Get out of there. Now._

_What's wrong?_

_Wayde's awake._

Noa clapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from shouting. _WHAT?!_

"Lynna. Move. Wayde's awake."

Lynna gave her a startled look. "Are you sure?" She hissed.

"Yes."

Lynna cursed. Jumping up, the rope connected to Kenda and Qing Yuan still in her hands, she ran across.

Noa placed her hands on the rope ready to swing herself onto it, but froze.

"Trying to escape?" Wayde's voice sounded from behind her.

She spun around, drawing her sword as she did so.

The pirate captain stood tall and impressive behind her. There was a mad glint in his ice blue eyes, and a malicious grin on his face. "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Noa!" Lynna called back, seeing her friend's predicament.

"Lynna, go!" Noa yelled, not looking back, her purple eyes still focused on the man before her.

He stepped forward. "You've made me very angry."

"You think I care?!" She snapped.

"You would if you want to live."

Before she could react to that statement, he hand shot forward and grabbed her wrists. He twisted them forcing Noa to drop her sword. Pulling her close, his other hand closed over her neck.

"It's such a pity. I didn't want to hurt you, but you've given me no choice. Pray to whatever gods you hold dear." He lifted her up by her neck.

Noa's hands scrabbled at his larger one, gasping for breath. She couldn't do anything, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't, colors sparked in front of her eyes as her vision began to go dark.

A voice broke through the pain. _Summon her. Summon the goddess Noa. They promised you, didn't they?_

A memory. Words spoken by the gods. _Remember, we will always be with you._

A name entered her mind.

_ATALANTA!!!!_

White light shot forth, banishing the darkness from her mind.

The blue-white amulet around the adept's neck shone with a brilliant light, and Wayde was blinded by the light. He dropped the girl, backing away, cursing.

There was a blast of wind from nowhere rocking the ship swirling upward like a hurricane, then blasting outwards.

Wayde opened his eyes blinking hard. His mouth opened in stunned amazement.

Above his deck, floating in the air was a tall green-haired maiden with a dress of white and a headdress of wings. For the first time in his life, Wayde felt fear. Atalanta: the heavenly huntress watched him from above. Her beautiful face an expressionless mask.

All was silent on the ship as the warm pink light of dawn cascaded across the water.

_Footnotes: Ah! Hooray it's number ten! The big first double digit number! And we have the first time a god is summoned and a new goddess who likes to smirk at others misfortune! How exciting! Please tell me what you think of Eris, I'd love to know._

_Character Profiles_

_So sorry, I meant to get these up sooner. Here they are folks! Character profiles for your favorite characters! By the way, even if the characters are not adepts, they have an assigned element based on their personality, where they live in the world, etc._

**Noa**

**Full name-**Noa la Solana de Anila (One heck of a name…)

**Age-**16

**Adept-**Jupiter Adept

**Element-**Wind

**Hair-**Blonde, cut short rather like a boy's

**Eyes-**Purple

**Height-**5'9

**Hometown**-Anemos on the continent of Atteka

**Family**-Elder sister Ellora, younger sister Ivira

**Hobby**-Reading

**Outfit**-Noa wears a light purple dress with long sleeves and slits up to mid thigh. She has a braided leather belt from which she hangs all sorts of doodads. She wears light blue pants beneath it and brown boots. Over this she wears a dark purple sorta overcoat thing. She wears her sylph amulet around her neck, and her sword on her back.

**Inspiration**-Personality wise Noa didn't really have any certain person that she was based off. Her body type, outfit, and appearance were all based off Ivan, Hama, and Sheba from the game. She was named after my next door neighbor's youngest daughter. (That child is one of the most adorable little girl EVER!!!)

**Troy**

**Full** **name**-Troy of Kalt

**Age**-15 (He's the older twin by five minutes)

**Adept**-NA

**Element**-Fire

**Hair**-White, short

**Eyes**-Blue

**Height**-5'6

**Hometown**-The settlement on Kalt Island

**Family**-Twin sister Lynna, grandparents

**Hobby**-Playing the flute, experimenting with explosives

**Outfit**-Troy's whole outfit is black. Black pants, black boots, black shirt, and a black headscarf.

**Lynna**

**Full** **name**-Lynna of Kalt

**Age**-15

**Adept**-NA

**Element**-Fire

**Hair**-White, long, usually pulled back

**Eyes**-Blue

**Height**-5'6

**Hometown**-The settlement on Kalt Island

**Family**-Twin brother Troy, grandparents

**Hobby**-Singing

**Outfit**-Lynna's outfit is black. Black pants which tuck into her black boots, a black corset shirt thing with sleeves, and a black headscarf. (I'm bad at describing clothes, okay?)

**Inspiration-**I love twins. I don't know why, I just think they make things a whole lot more fun. I tend to have at least one pair in every story I write. (It's a bad habit of mine…) Anyway, Troy and Lynna are based off of my own younger sisters who are also twins. Like Troy and Lynna one is mostly a pessimist, while the other an optimist. Troy and Lynna's outfits are based off of pirate costumes I saw once in a costume magazine.

Please let me know what characters you would like to see profiles for.

_Eris: She is a totally original character and does not appear in the games. Goddess of chaos and discord, she is based off the goddess of the same name in Greek mythology. If you have seen the Sinbad cartoon a different version of her appears as the antagonist in that._

_Healing Psyenergy: Yeah, it's true. As far as I know Wind Adepts have no healing psyenergy. It's really annoying. Earth, water, heck even fire has healing psyenergy, but none for wind! UGH!!!! In the game it's especially annoying considering Ivan and Sheba aren't all that strong anyway…_

_Cloak: Was used before by Zephyr in chapter…four. Has no specific element it is based off of._

_Troy and Lynna's Gods: Kalt Island, being so close to the frozen north, the Mars Lighthouse, the Mars Clan, etc. worship the Gods of Fire. This includes Kirin, Tiamat, Meteor, Ulysses, and Daedalus from the game, and Eris (An original character). Because Troy and Lynna left their home and set off to the sea, they probably aren't in the best standing with the Fire Gods. They still worship them though._

_PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!!_


	11. Chapter 11

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter Eleven

_Author's Note: Thank you to Osprey Eamon for catching my mistake about Contigo and Atteka. It is my fault, I should have rechecked my references. It has been remedied. You bring up an excellent point about Meteor. You'll have to wait until the gods of fire make an appearance to actually see what I have in store for them, but hey, if people can worship statues and golden cows why can't they worship flaming rocks?_

_Disclaimer: All characters save Atalanta are mine!!! But Golden Sun is not. If it was I wouldn't be living in a box under the freeway! (Just kidding, I live in a dorm room!)_

Nothing moved as the rays of early morning sunlight swept over the pirate vessel.

Everybody who was half-way conscious was staring at the green-haired figure floating above the ship. After all, it wasn't everyday that the gods stepped out of myth and into real life.

Whether they were frozen for a few seconds or half an hour, Noa would never be able to recall.

Finally the goddess spoke.

"Wayde."

The pirate flinched.

"I have seen your crimes. You have imprisoned and stolen many of our children from their homes." Her beautiful eyes narrowed. "I do not take kindly to that."

Wayde swallowed hard.

"Noa."

"Yes my lady?"

"Make your escape. Where are you headed?"

"To the village of the Kibombo."

"Then my wind shall take you there."

Noa watched as the winds slowly lifted her sword to her. She took it and slid it back into her sheath. Making her way over to the rope, she mounted it and walked slowly, and carefully across using the winds to balance her.

As she stepped lightly down to the deck of the Ulyesses she looked over at the crew. They were all staring with their mouths open, even Troy.

"Noa…" Kenda began weakly.

"Later. We've got to get out of here."

"But, but that's Atalanta! That's a god! That's…" Even Troy seemed lost for words.

"I know."

Lynna was on her knees. "She's a goddess…"

Noa sighed. Drawing her sword she turned and cut the line anchoring them to the larger ship. "Do you want the Captain to die? Cause that's what's going to happen unless he receives medical care soon!"

That got them moving.

There was little left to be done besides transport both Qing Yuan and Peregrine inside the cabin. Noa stayed on deck, watching the goddess.

She raised one pale arm, and with a swift motion, a wind was summoned propelling them forward. The four stood at the deck watching until the pirate ship was out of sight.

Finally, Noa turned away. A whisper on the wind caught her ear. "May the winds be with you, Daughter of Anemos."

--

Atalanta stared down at the pirate captain before her. She was not pleased with him. Not in the slightest. Normally she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it, but since Noa had summoned her…well…that was a different matter.

She once again raised her arm high above her head, hand open wide, palm facing upward. Light began to gather in it.

"You will be punished."

The pirate seemed to find his voice. "Please! Please great lady! Mercy! I'll do anything!!!"

"Mercy is only granted to those who deserve it. You are not one of them."

The light shot out, a thousand deadly arrows pierced the heavens.

The ship was nothing more than a smoking heap in a matter of seconds.

--

Noa knew they were watching her. She could feel their eyes on her. Troy was at the helm, favoring his uninjured leg, and Lynna had just rejoined them from below decks where Kenda was tending to Qing Yuan. Peregrine was the only one who seemed unaffected by the events. Warily leaning against the mast, he had refused to go below decks saying he had spent enough time inside a ship to last him for the rest of his life. His eyes were closed, and Noa could see the faint shadow of a smile on his face.

_Noa…are you alright? _It was Peregrine.

She sighed. _I'm fine…it's just…_

_Why don't you lie down for a bit?_

_That sounds nice right now._

_You should. Summoning a god is no small feat._

She turned from the railing and walked to the cabin door.

"Noa?"

The adept turned back, finding Lynna standing there.

"Yes?"

"Kenda told me that we should be at the river head soon."

"Alright then." She went to open the door.

"Noa!" She paused. "Thank you. For saving us."

"You're welcome."

"You were really amazing back there."

She paused, her hand on the handle to the door. "You think so?"

"Well yeah! I mean, you summoned a goddess! I knew you were strong, but I didn't know you could do that!"

Noa looked at Lynna. "You mean you're not scared?"

"Scared of what?"

"Of me."

Lynna's eyes widened for a moment. "Oh. Well, no not really. I mean, I already know you, so I was surprised, but I wasn't scared. Not of you anyway. I know that you'd never do anything to hurt us." She smiled. "And don't worry about Troy. He trusts you."

Noa felt a great knot untie itself in her chest, and returned Lynna's smile with a small one of her own. "I'm going to lie down for a bit."

"Alright."

--

As Noa passed by the door to Qing Yuan's cabin she noticed it was open.

Kenda's voice suddenly drifted out of it. "…Such a fool."

Stopping, she peered in. Kenda had laid Qing Yuan dressed in nothing but his pants on his stomach on the bed. She had removed the tattered remains of his shirt and was gently cleaning his torn back with a bottle of reddish-clear liquid and a wad of folded cloth which was liberally stained with blood. Her eyes were red and unshed tears glistened in them.

She continued to speak to the unconscious captain. "You know that? You really are an idiot! You always get into the most awful situations and I have to patch and sew you back up after it. Why I set foot on this ship I'll never know! You…" She trailed off. Her hands never stopped working.

Noa got the feeling that she was viewing something very private. Not wanting to listen in any longer, she was about to turn away when Kenda's spoke up.

"Is someone out there?"

Noa sheepishly poked her head in. "Hey Kenda." She groped for a possible excuse. "Do you need any help?"

Kenda thought for a moment then sighed. "Yes. If you don't mind that is."

Noa opened the door wider and stepped in, looking around as she did so. It was the first time she had been in the captain's quarters. Maps and charts blanketed the wall directly to her left, a large map of the world surrounded by smaller maps of the individual continents and islands. A table stood in the middle, with a dresser against the opposite wall, two chairs, and the bed all of which were bolted to the floor. On the wall to her right next to the dresser hung a large tapestry of a giant green serpentine beast. On the opposite side of the dresser hung a tapestry depicting a small city. A huge mountain loomed in the background. She refocused her attention back on Kenda. "Of course I don't mind. What do you need me to do?"

"I need to bandage his back. Could you hold him up for me?"

"Sure."

She walked over to the bed. Together she and Kenda gently rolled Qing Yuan onto his side, and then pulled him into a sitting position.

"Just hold his shoulders, and make sure he doesn't fall back."

Noa took Qing Yuan's shoulders his forehead resting on her own shoulder.

Taking a roll of clean white bandages Kenda leaned forward and began to quickly and efficiently wrap the unconscious man's torso.

After a few minutes she was done. Laying him back on his stomach, Kenda set about cleaning the cuts on his wrists and ankles.

"How bad is it?" Noa asked.

Kenda laughed quietly. "He'll live. He's had worse."

"Worse?" Noa couldn't imagine anything worse than this.

"Not by much, but yeah. He should wake up soon, though I'll be keeping him in bed until he's healed. If he moves an inch, I'll kill him."

Trying to distract Kenda from thinking about Qing Yuan, Noa cast about for a topic and her eyes landed on the tapestries. "What are those tapestries of?" She asked.

Kenda spared a glance. "Oh. The one on the left is Qing Yuan's home, Izumo. The one on the right is the guardian of Izumo, the serpent of Mount Mikage. It's said to protect Izumo from all danger."

"They're beautiful."

"I believe his mother made them."

"It must be nice to have something to remind him of home."

"Yeah…home…" She became quiet.

Noa looked at her quizzically. "Aren't you happy? I mean we're going to your home right?"

Kenda sighed deeply. "It's complicated. Let's just say I'm not exactly the favorite." She took a roll of bandages and gave it to the blonde adept. "Here. Take this to Troy. If he doesn't wrap that ankle it'll get worse."

Noa could tell she had been dismissed, so she left. No point in prying any further.

--

"Troy! Here! Kenda says to go ahead and get off your feet." Noa tossed the roll of bandages up to the pale boy who still stood at the helm. He caught it easily. "I'll be fine." He told them.

Lynna swung down. "I'll take the tiller. You rest."

He opened his mouth to protest.

"Move or I'll tie you to the mast." She threatened.

Troy stubbornly stayed where he was.

"Upside down."

He moved.

He sat down, leaning against the outer railing of the ship. He winced painfully as he pulled his boot off.

"Do you need help?" Noa asked coming up.

Troy considered this for a moment then nodded. "Could you wrap it for me? I'm not too good at this sort of thing." He asked as he rolled up the leg of his pants.

"Sure." She gently pulled off his sock. They both winced as they saw his ankle. It had swollen to at least twice its normal size and was a nasty bluish-purple.

"Ouch." Troy said.

Noa began to quickly and tightly wrap the injured foot. As soon as she was finished, Troy twisted so he was laying on his back with his foot resting on the railing.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

They were silent for a moment, nobody speaking. Finally Noa broke the silence.

"So, did something happen between Kenda and her hometown?"

The twins looked at her. "What gave you that idea?" Lynna asked.

"Well, she mentioned something about not being the favorite…"

Troy and Lynna now looked at each other. Lynna nodded and Troy sighed.

"Well, we don't know the all the fine details or anything," Lynna began. "But basically, Kenda and her father haven't spoken since she left Kibombo almost three years ago."

"Why not?"

Troy shrugged as best as he could with his back against the deck. "Kenda's father, from what she's told us, is the witchdoctor of the Kibombo. He's the leader of the village, and completely devoted to his god and his duty."

Lynna now took up the story. "When Qing Yuan came to Kibombo, he was impressed by their strength, and invited a few of them to join him."

"He had a smaller ship back then." Troy interjected.

"Anyway Kenda, who had always wanted to see the world, was the only one who even considered his offer. The Kibombo stick to their village. It's almost unheard of one to leave."

"Her father forbade her from going, saying it was her duty to stay and protect the village. Kenda would have become the head warrior had she stayed."

"Kenda ignored her father and left anyway. She's only been back three times, and all three of those times he's acted as if she never existed. And that's it." They finished.

"I see."

"From what I've heard, the Kibombo tend to be quite hostile towards people they view as enemies." Peregrine suddenly spoke up.

"That's true. Kenda's had a hard time even getting back in." Troy agreed.

"Her mother's really nice though. And she's a great cook." Lynna told her.

"So you've met her family?"

"Just once. It was a few months after we joined Qing-Yuan and Kenda. We haven't met her father though. He dislikes all outsiders."

At that moment, the door to the ship's cabins and Kenda came out.

All four instantly fell silent.

"Hey Kenda! How's the captain?" Lynna called, her voice a little to cheerful.

Kenda obviously thought so too, because she raised her eyebrow before answering. "He's out of any immediate danger, though he'll be sleeping for a while longer."

"Oh okay." She fell silent.

Kenda looked between the three of them and Peregrine who still had his eyes closed as if were sleeping. She sighed. "Okay. I know you all were talking about me."

"We weren't talking exactly…" Troy trailed off.

"It's okay. It's not exactly a secret or anything." She told them. "Just let me do the talking when we get there." She paused thinking. "Just keep your mouths shut unless you are asked something directly. It'll be easier that way. Peregrine it might be best if you go back inside."

"It will be fine. I do not mind if they see me as a demon. I have been called such before." The emaciated boy replied.

"Well, if you're sure…"

"Do not worry. They are your family, no?"

Kenda sighed. "I don't think my father sees me as such anymore."

There was a short uncomfortable silence.

Lynna suddenly spoke up. "Kenda. I see the river head."

They all looked to where she pointed. Framed between two tall cliffs was a wide passage that led into the continent they had been skirting the past few days.

Kenda took a deep breath and sighed. "No point in avoiding it. We need to restock and Qing Yuan needs to rest in a safe enviorment."

To Noa it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as she was them.

"Let's go."

Lynna spun the tiller and headed the Ulysses towards the cliffs.

--

"Nika hurry up!" The boy called to the younger girl who trailed behind him.

She gasped for air, her bare feet slapping the dirt and the bracelets on her wrist jangling. "I'm trying Iuei!"

They passed through the two pillars that marked the entrance to their village and between the two stern looking guards. On all sides were round wooden homes with thick thatched roofs. Several of the homes had fires outside which were being tended by various people. The two children ran through the village as fast as they could. They finally skidded to a halt in front of the tallest building which had two floors instead of just one.

The boy threw back the thick cloth that served as the door and barreled inside.

"Ama! Ama!" They both called. "Ama! Where are you?!"

A tall dark-skinned woman came out of a back room. "Keb? Teranika? What's going on?"

They ran up to her, bent over and breathing hard.

"Ama! We were…at the cliffs…" Keb, who was usually very level-headed, had a look of excitement on his face.

Their mother's eyes narrowed, and she placed her hands on her hips. "Keb! Teranika! What have I told you about going there? It's not safe for you two!" She scolded her two youngest.

The girl looked up, her dark eyes wide. "But Ama! We saw it!"

"Saw it? Saw what?"

"We saw Iuai's ship!"

Her hands fell away from her hips, as she stared down in shock. "Are, are you sure?" She asked them, her voice shaking slightly.

They nodded.

"Stay here." She quickly left her home and then the village, heading towards the river.

--

"We're being watched." Noa told them.

They were sailing between the steep cliffs that heralded the entrance into the continent.

Kenda had her arms crossed, and she was frowning. "Naturally. The Kibombo are paranoid after all."

"Can you tell how many there are?" Troy asked.

Noa closed her eyes. "Reveal." She opened them again and scanned the cliff tops. "I can't tell the exact number, but there seems to be at least two adepts."

"There are a total of seven people on the cliffs, two of which are adepts." Peregrine told them.

"That's amazing that you can tell that!" Lynna exclaimed.

"It's easier for an adept to sense other adepts than regular people." He told her. "Adepts give off very unique auras that are stronger than the normal person."

"What are we going to do?" Troy asked Kenda.

"Ignore them. They are just watching us right now."

They continued sailing not looking to either of the cliff faces. After a few more minutes, Kenda pointed to where the river suddenly passed by a mountain.

"There, the Kibombo Mountains. That's where we want to go."

"I don't see the village." Noa commented.

"That's because the river doesn't run by the village. We have to take a pass through the mountains to get to it."

"But what about Qing Yuan, Troy, and Peregrine? They can't walk."

"None of them are in enough danger that being carried will kill them. Although it would be better if we had a stretcher for Qing Yuan." She took a deep breath. "I'm tired of all this. Let's just get there and get this over with."

Noa looked back over the railing of the ship, watching as the shore of the river drew closer and closer.

Quite suddenly, the ship ground to a halt as it ran up on the sandy beach.

Kenda wasted no time. "Lynna, tie the boat down." Lynna nodded and swung down the side of the boat. "Noa, could you help me with the anchor?"

"Of course." Noa crossed the boat to where she stood, and taking the other side of the anchor, dropped it over board. It hit the water with a small splash and sunk to the bottom.

Kenda turned towards Noa. "I'm going to get Qing Yuan. Would you-" She was suddenly cut off by Peregrine's voice.

"Lynna's in trouble."

At that moment they heard a yell from the beach. "Uh, Kenda? Help!"

Lynna stood on the sandy beach, the rope lying forgotten on the ground as she held her hands in the air and stared down the end of no less than five very sharp spears being wielded by five dark-skinned men. She laughed a bit nervously. "Hello! Nice to see you again!...Kenda!"

Kenda closed her eyes in exasperation and sighed. "Really. Must we go through this every time?" Then she ran over to the side of the deck and swung off the boat. She calmly walked up towards where Lynna stood, and grabbing the back of her shirt, pulled her back and planted herself in front of the warriors.

She smiled politely. "Hello. Is there a problem here?"

The warriors seemed to relax slightly at the sight of her, or at least they lowered their spears. The one in the front stepped forward and bowed slightly.

"Kenda. We did not know it was you."

"I can tell. Listen, me and my friends need to get to Kibombo. Could you open the pass for us?"

The warrior coughed slightly. "Well, actually, the pass was just closed. No one is to enter."

Kenda frowned. "I see. I suppose this order was given by my father?"

He looked extremely uncomfortable. "Uh, well, yes."

Kenda stood for a moment, considering something, then looked back up. "No matter, we will pass through anyway."

"But you can't do that-"

Kenda cut him off, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Oh? Are you going to stop me, Rio?"

Rio gulped, but stood firm. "The pass has been closed. No one will enter it."

"Fine. Summon the witchdoctor."

All the warriors were taken aback by this statement. "What?"

"You heard me. Summon the witchdoctor. I will discuss it with him."

"There is no need for that. I am here."

All eyes suddenly focused on the voice which this statement had come from. A tall, broad-shouldered man strode out of the thick jungle which surrounded the river bank. He had the same shade of dark skin as the other Kibombo present, and Noa saw, the same eyes as Kenda. He wore a white robe and a headdress with a single blue feather. Even at the distance she stood, Noa could tell that he was an adept.

Kenda and the newcomer watched each other for a moment, not speaking. Then finally, Kenda bowed her head slightly.

"Hello, Amon."

_Footnotes: Yay! We finally reach Kibombo!!!! That took long enough…And Wayde is gone!!!! First character death of the story right there! That's a bit exciting actually…_

_Lynna's Reaction: I know that most people would take a bit longer to get over the whole shock of finding out that your friend can summon gods, but Lynna's pretty easy going. No scratch that, she's WAY to easy going. But anyway, it takes a whole lot more than a goddess to get Lynna to stop liking people._

_The Serpent and Mt. Mikage-Both the Serpent and Mt. Mikage are taken directly from the game. The serpent is said to be the guardian of Izumo. It is weak against dragonsbane and light. In the game for some reason the serpent starts attacking the villagers and a girl, Kushinada, is chosen by lottery to become a sacrifice. In the end Felix and co. slay the beast with some help from Kushinada's friend Susa and nobody dies! Hoorah. It's basically a retelling of the story of Sosanoo and the Orochi from Japanese mythology._

_Language spoken throughout Age of Light: Everybody seems to speak the same language in the game but I figured that at one time there were different languages so I took the liberty and gave different places different languages.. (All terms are created by me unless stated otherwise.) Most cities or regions have their own language, but they all speak a common language which is simply known as Common. The Kibombo language is mostly used for ceremonies but they still address each other in their own language._

_Iuei-This means big brother. (It is pronounced as E-u-eh)_

_Iuai-This means big sister. (It is pronounced as E-u-ai)_

_Ama-This means mama or mom. The full term is Aman. (Kenda is the only one of her siblings to address her mother as Aman.)_

_Amon-This means father. Kenda and all of her siblings address their father as this. (The shortened version is Amo.)_

_Character Profiles_

**Kenda**

**Full name-**Kenda of the Kibombo

**Age-**19

**Adept-**NA

**Element-**Earth

**Hair-**Black, braided into a lot of tiny braids and pulled back into a ponytail

**Eyes-**Black

**Height-**5'11

**Hometown**-Kibombo on the continent of Gondowan

**Family**-Father (Adem), Mother (Kesia), Younger brothers (Nitesh and Keb), Younger sisters (Mikaia, Teranika)

**Hobby**-Experimenting with herbal remedies, training

**Outfit**-Kenda wears the 'uniform' of the ship: black corset shirt, black pants that tuck into black boots, and black headscarf. Her other outfit which she wears in this chapter is one from Kibombo. It's a green top with no sleeves that goes down a little past her waist (would that be called a tube top?), a woven belt of browns and greens and a brown skirt with a slit up to mid thigh on the right side. She goes barefoot in this outfit. Outside of this, Kenda enjoys wearing gold jewelry. She usually doesn't wear it on the ship but at home she wears thick gold anklets on each ankle, a bunch of bangles on her right wrist, and a gold armband on her upper left arm.

**Inspiration/Origin of Character**-Kenda came out of the thought that I wanted the Kibombo in the story, and the fact that I wanted Qing Yuan to have a girl as a first mate. As far as her name goes, I mentioned earlier that it means child of cool, clear water. If not for the fact that she makes her living on a ship, her name would have been different and had something to do with earth which is her assigned element.

**Qing Yuan**

**Full name-**Zhang Qing Yuan

**Age-**21

**Adept-**NA

**Element-**Water

**Hair-**Black usually kept down or pulled back into a ponytail

**Eyes-**Black

**Height-**6'0

**Hometown**-Izumo on the island of Izumo

**Family**-Father (Ren Yao), Mother (Xin Zhu), Younger sister (Mei Yi)

**Hobby**-Exploring

**Outfit**-Qing Yuan wears the ship's 'uniform' most of the time. It consists of black shirt, black pants, black boots and black headscarf (If you haven't figured it out yet.). When he's not wearing that he is usally wearing some sort of Chinese robe which is usually blue, green, black, or a mixture of said colors.

**Inspiration/Orgin of Character**-Qing Yuan is actually a remake of an older character of mine. He's a solid-headed leader who's just a bit of an idiot. I wanted him to be from Izumo just to give the crew a varied cast. (I don't know what I'm trying to say…) Anyway, even though he is from Izumo, Qing Yuan's element is water because of how he lives his life. The reason that his name is Chinese but he's from Izumo is this: Qing Yuan's family moved to Izumo from Xian for reasons you will shortly find out. (Or maybe not so shortly, but it will be discussed.)

**Zephyr**

**Full name-**Zephyr de Anila

**Age-**21

**Adept-**Jupiter Adept

**Element-**Wind

**Hair-**Gold, cut short

**Eyes-**Purple

**Height-**5'11

**Hometown**-Anemos on the continent of Atteka

**Family**-Mother (Gail)

**Hobby**-Helping others

**Outfit**-He usually wears a pale blue robe with a darker blue over robe. His shoes are brown leather, and he wears some sort of belt with it. (I usually end up putting less thought into the guy's outfits than the girls.)

**Inspiration/Origin of Character**-Zephyr was created to be the 'guide' character for Noa. Basically he was there to set Noa on the right path, and then provide inspiration and such throughout the story. He will show up again later, just not in person anytime soon. His personality was partly based off my older cousin. His body type, and coloring is all based off Sheba, Ivan and Hama from the game.

--

First Anniversary Celebration!!!!

Noa: Hello everybody! Officially as of the fifth of December 2008, Golden Sun: The Age of Light is one year old!!!!

Lynna-Hooray!!!!

*Other characters cheer with varying degrees of excitement.*

Troy-*Snorts* Took her long enough to get this chapter up.

Lynna-Troy! Don't be like that!

Troy-What? She's like over a month late!!! OW! Don't hit me!

Noa: *Pointedly ignoring the twins* We'd all like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Zephyr-For all of your continued support and kind encouragement Mokona-Midoki cannot express her gratitude!

Troy-Hey, who are you anyway?

Zephyr-Ahahaha…I haven't been in the story much lately…

Ivira-Yeah! What's up with that?! I was in like ONE SCENE! At least you got a chapter!

Troy-Who are you?!

Ellora-Those of us in Anemos are very grateful to you all for your kind words.

Troy-WHERE ARE YOU ALL COMING FROM?!?!?!

Qing Yuan-Come now Troy, don't be so uptight! You just have to go with the flow!

Troy-You go with the flow too much.

Kenda-Well, ignoring the pessimist, we on the boat would like to express our thanks as well! Without you, we might have been stuck on that pirate ship forever!

Peregrine-Yes, thank you.

*There's a flash of light and Megaera appears*

Megaera-Please continue to read our story and support us in the next year. *Grabs the hilt of one of her swords.* Or I will not be pleased.

Eris-Oh, but you're so cute when you're angry!

Megaera-YOU!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!!!

Eris-*Giggles* Oh dear, I think I've outstayed my welcome! Farewell!

Noa-Anyway, from all of us and Mokona-Midoki,

Everybody-THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

Troy-So wait….does this mean that we're all one year old too?

*Everybody looks at him.*

Kenda-That's to confusing. Don't think about it Troy.

_Thank you so much for the continued support you have shown!!! I will try my hardest this year too!!! I'm aiming for at least one chapter a month!!!!_


	12. Chapter 12

Golden Sun: The Age of Light

By: Mokona-Midoki

Chapter Twelve

_Author's Note: Thanks so much for your continued reading of this! I apologize profusely at not getting it updated sooner. Writer's block combined with school, finals, and other things have kept me from getting it done sooner._

_Disclaimer: All characters except for the gods belong to me. Golden Sun does not. If it did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction about it._

Noa watched Kenda and her father from the deck of the ship.

Kenda stood proud and tall, her head lifted high, and her mouth set. She would not back down.

Not ten feet away, her father stood just as proud, if not a little taller. With his staff held in one hand, he was just as imposing and awe-inspiring as she remembered. But she refused to let it scare her.

Neither would back down, and neither would give quarter.

"Why have you come?"

Kenda almost snorted. "I think it should be obvious. My crew and I have just escaped from near death and require medical aid, rest, and provisions. I think a more appropriate question would be why have you closed the passage? I am Kibombo, and thus have the right to enter the village."

He nodded. "While this is true, your crew is not. They have no right, and therefore will not be allowed to enter."

Kenda bristled. "If they were with anyone else from the village, then there would be no problem. It is because of me that you deny them entrance!"

Her father said nothing.

"Amon, your quarrel is with me, not my crew. Do not seal their fate because of that! You are the witchdoctor, it is your duty!"

Now he drew himself up imperiously. "It is my duty to protect my village from threats!"

"You believe me to be a threat? You believe I wish to harm the village? I am your daughter! You know I would never do that."

"I do not know you. You are not my daughter." He said this last sentence bitterly.

Kenda's jaw went tight, and she swallowed hard.

Suddenly, a new voice rang out. "Perhaps she is not your daughter, but she is mine. She and her crew have the right to enter."

Kenda and her father stiffened, and turned. Noa looked behind them to see a tall regal woman dressed in greens and browns standing at the edge of the jungle. She strode forward, her dark hair and skin almost glowing in the warm sun. Noa had never met a queen, but she was sure that this woman was one. From her head to her toes she was awe-inspiring.

"Kesia." Kenda's father acknowledged the woman. "Why are you here?"

"I heard that my eldest daughter had returned. I have come to bring her home."

"That is all well, but do you truly mean to bring these, outsiders into Kibombo?"

"If it is a question of their heritage, Adem, then I claim every single one as my own. They are my family, and they will enter." She paused. When he didn't say anything she continued. "By your silence, I take it you accept this and will grant them asylum."

Adem's face hardened. "Very well. Do what you wish." He turned away. "Grant them entrance." He told the guards in clipped tones. Without another word or glance, he strode back into the jungle.

As soon as he had left, Kenda looked over to the woman who Noa surmised to be her mother.

"You did not have to do that, Aman."

Kesia shook her head. "That is the first thing you say to me after how long?" She sighed. "You were always a frank child." Kesia held out her arms. "You have been gone to long this time, my Kenda."

Kenda went to her mother, and was encircled by her embrace. "Forgive me, Aman."

"You have come back, Kenda. There is nothing to forgive."

--

Not two hours later Kenda and Kesia led the way through the jungle followed by Lynna, Noa, who carried Peregrine, Qing Yuan, who was still out on a stretcher being supported by two guards, and the guard named Rio who was carrying a very embarrassed Troy.

Introductions had been made all around, everybody being quite interested in Noa as they had met few people from beyond Gondowan. The guards had been a bit wary of Peregrine thinking that he was some sort of wraith, which he found hilarious, but after being assured by Kenda that he was as normal as they were, they had set off through the thick lush jungle.

The going was slow, but Noa didn't mind. She was constantly in awe of her surroundings. It was not to say that Anemos had no forests of its own. It did, and they were large affairs, but never in her life had Noa seen this many vibrant shades of green all in just one area.

They finally came out of the jungle and onto a mountain path that led up through the forested peaks until they came to a staircase guarded by two more warriors. Accompanied by the guards, Kesia, and Kenda, they were able to easily pass through the checkpoint, and the four after that.

_This all seems a little extreme._ Noa remarked in her mind to Peregrine.

_You must remember Noa, the Kimbombo have to do this in order to protect themselves. There are many who wish for the power that the Kibombo protect. Ah, It seems we have reached the village proper._

Noa looked up, and sure enough between two sheer cliffs she could see the shapes of buildings, and smoke from fires rising into the clear blue sky.

As they got closer Noa could see that the village was ringed in tall, thick, wooden pillars that had shapes, and designs carved into them. She turned towards Kenda, who had fallen back a bit as they neared the village.

"Kenda, what are those pillars?"

Kenda looked over and smiled. "Oh, those. Those are the spirit pillars. They're said to house the spirits of our ancestors. They drive off evil spirits who would wish the village harm."

"Does it work?"

Kenda shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, nothing has ever happened to prove that they don't work." By now, they had reached the entrance to the village. Following Kenda, Noa stepped through the line of pillars. Almost at once, she felt an alien presence in her mind. It was just a slight brush, and then it was gone, but she could feel its presence all around her still.

She glanced down at Peregrine. _Did you feel that?_

_I did._

_What was it?_

_Well, we have entered into the realm of the Great Gabomba. Surely he would want to see if we can be trusted._

_Then, he's real?_

_What else could it have been? But anyway, we will know soon enough._

"Noa? Is everything alright?"

Noa started and blinked. Kenda and the others had stopped and turned back towards her.

"Ah, sorry. I uh…spaced out for a moment there." She quickly caught up with the others, suddenly becoming very aware of just how many people were staring at her. It seemed as if the entire village had turned out to watch them enter.

Lynna giggled softly. "Kinda makes you nervous, huh?"

"What?"

"Everybody staring like that! But don't worry. They've probably just never seen someone with hair like yours."

They suddenly stopped in front of one of the larger homes in the village. It was like the others being brown clay with a thatched roof, but had two stories instead of one.

Kesia turned to them. "This is our house. You all may stay here for the time be-." She was suddenly cut off by a yell from inside the house.

"KENDA!!!"

Kenda's head jerked up just in time to see a young girl no older than ten or eleven barrel out through the doorway.

Before Kenda could so much as move out of the way, the girl tackled her, throwing her small arms around Kenda's waist and nearly knocking her off her feet. She began speaking so quickly it was hard to make out her words.

"Kenda! You're back! Kenda I missed you so much! Did you miss me? Kaia said you weren't coming back, but I knew she was lying! Keb's here too! Where have you been? Why didn't you send word you were coming? What's going on? Are you hurt? Did you bring me anything?"

Kenda grinned and clapped her hand over the girl's mouth, silencing her somewhat. "Nika! Slow down! I can't understand you!" She took her hand away and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Now, yes. I did miss you."

Nika smiled so big Noa thought that her face would split. She let go, still clutching Kenda's hand. "I'm so glad you're here Kenda! We saw your ship on the cliffs!"

Kenda raised her eyebrows. "You're not allowed up there."

Nika pouted. "Well yeah, but me and Keb were exploring!"

"Keb and I." A boy, who Noa assumed to be Keb, had now exited through the doorway as well.

It was then that the girl noticed Noa and Peregrine watching her. Her brown eyes went wide at the sight of them. She shrieked and quickly maneuvered herself so that Kenda was between her and the two Jupiter adepts.

"Demon! It's a wraith! It's a lich! Kenda there's a lich! Quick! Do some-"

She was quickly silenced by her mother who rapped her forehead with her knuckles.

"Teranika! How dare you say such awful things to our guest!"

Teranika looked up at her mother, tears in her eyes and her hands on her forehead. "But Ama, he's-"

Her mother once again cut her off. "That boy is no more a wraith than you or I. He has been through more then you could imagine! On top of that, he is our honored guest, and deserves your respect."

Surprising them all, it was Peregrine who spoke up next. "Please, it is alright."

Both Teranika and Kesia looked at him.

"She is a child and should not be punished for assuming I am a wraith. I have been called much worse in the past. It is actually a bit refreshing to hear someone treat me with so kind a name."

Nika blinked. She had obviously not been expecting him to say that. "So…you…you're not angry?"

"Of course not."

There was an awkward silence from Nika before Keb interrupted.

"Will you be staying here, Kenda?"

Kenda nodded. "Yes, as will my crew." She looked up at her mother. "Will we be using the extra room for them?"

In answer, Kesia strode forward and opened the flap that served as a door. "Yes, there should be enough space for them. Welcome to our home."

--

Through the hazy darkness that swamped his mind, Qing Yuan was at first aware of the pain. It was a fiery dull throb that bit deep into his back and stayed there, refusing to leave. It wasn't unbearable, but he couldn't remember exactly quite how he had come by it. His brain wasn't working correctly, and his memory was hazy and blank.

He could smell earth, which probably meant he was on the ground, and smoke close by, so either someone was cooking something, or Lynna had accidentally set something or someone on fire. Struggling to figure out which it was, he forced his heavy eyelids to open, and found himself staring blearily at someone's right foot. It was presumably either Troy or Lynna's since the skin was unusually pale. He assumed Lynna, since he could spot the spiky black circle of foreign script and the small perfect sun that encircled the pale ankle that the foot was attached to. Even though he wasn't thinking quite straight, he did at least remember that Troy's tattoo was on his left ankle.

Qing Yuan put his hands flat on the ground and tried to sit up, but his back throbbed painfully, and he fell back down, his head thudding into the dirt.

At this noise, Lynna's foot shifted, and then pulled out of his view for a few seconds before her pale skinned, blue-eyed face replaced it. When she saw his eyes focus on her, she grinned. "Captain! You're awake!"

At this pronouncement, Troy's voice entered in from behind Qing Yuan. "What? Is that idiot really awake?"

Qing Yuan took offence to that remark, but at the moment, the best comeback he could make was a sort of groan.

Lynna continued on, ignoring her brother. "We were so worried! Troy was too, don't believe him. We didn't know if you would make it! Kenda will be so happy! Noa too! Oh, but Noa's not here right now, she went outside with Peregrine!" She paused here to breathe, but was cut off by Troy.

"Lynna, maybe you should go find Kenda and tell her that he's awake."

Lynna beamed in the direction of her brother's voice. "That's a great idea!" She levered herself up and disappeared, calling the first mate's name.

"Kenda! Kenda! He's awake! He's not dead!"

There was silence for a few moments, until Qing Yuan collected his voice. "…Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Wh…What happened?"

There was a sigh. "You really want to know?"

"Troy, I can hardly twitch without feeling pain, I don't recognize where I am, and for all intents and purposes, I'm sure I should be dead. So yes. I really want to know." Qing Yuan grumbled into the floor.

"Alright, alright, no need to snap at me." The gunner paused, collecting his thoughts before he began. "Basically, you were knocked out and from what we can tell, whipped until your back could no longer be recognized as such."

That particular memory returned to Qing Yuan and he groaned. "I hate pirates."

"Thanks. Anyway, after that, they put Lynna, Kenda, and I into a cell, and Noa into a separate one. Noa used her psyenergy to break out, and then put some guards to sleep before she came to get us. We then got you, and Peregrine."

"Who's Peregrine?"

"An adept Wayde was keeping. Apparently, he's a Jupiter adept like Noa. That's how Wayde found us. He's in pretty bad shape."

It was then that they heard footsteps, and then Lynna's cheerful voice.

"Yeah I'm sure he's awake! Come on, just come see for yourself!"

At that moment, Kenda and Lynna entered into the room.

Qing Yuan levered himself up so that he could see his crew, his back throbbing in protest as he did so.

Lynna and Troy had both changed into the pale blue shorts and white shirts of their bed clothes, the pale shades making them seem even more colorless than usual. Neither of them seemed to be worse for the wear, although Troy's ankle and neck were bandaged. Kenda, on the other hand, had let her hair down and was dressed in vibrant greens and deep browns, while gold glittered at her wrists and ankles.

All three looked at him with a mixture of relief and worry on their faces.

He grinned up at them. "Morning. Miss anything important, did I?"

Lynna grinned back, while Troy rolled his eyes, and Kenda's face took on an expression that quite clearly stated that she was resisting the urge to kick him.

"I see you're awake." She snapped back.

Qing Yuan felt his grin slip ever so slightly, before he hitched it back into place. She was NOT happy with him. "And I see that we're in Kibombo. I'm assuming that something happened while I was out."

They all looked at each other, trading silent glances. It was finally Kenda who spoke. "Wayde's dead."

His mouth dropped open. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not that. "Dead? As in….dead?"

Kenda nodded.

"But…how?"

Once again, they were all silent. "Lynna, take Troy outside."

Lynna nodded, and going over to her twin, hauled him carefully to his feet, before slinging one of his arms around her neck. Troy, for once, didn't protest as he was led outside.

After they had left, Qing Yuan looked back up to his first mate, one eyebrow cocked in question.

Kenda sighed, and slumped down against the wall.

"Atalanta appeared and helped us escape."

It took a minute for the entirety of this phrase to sink into Qing Yuan's brain.

"Atalanta? Wait a minute….THE Atalanta? The Heavenly Huntress who flies through the skies?! THAT Atalanta?!"

She glared at him. "Yes that Atalanta! Who did you think I was talking about?!"

"Certainly not her! The goddess Atalanta?!"

"YES!!"

"But how?" He simply could not wrap his mind around it. Goddess's did not simply appear on the mortal plane and go about saving people. It just didn't happen. Not in real life anyways.

"I'm not sure…but…I think it was Noa."

"Noa?"

Kenda quickly explained the remainder of what had happened. Qing Yuan stayed quiet, listening to her. Finally, when she had finished, she looked at him, a serious expression on her face. "I think…that we're in a far more serious predicament then we bargained for."

Qing Yuan nodded his agreement. "I think you're right."

--

_Footnotes: So they FINALLY get to Kibombo. Most of Kenda's family is introduced, as well as the drama behind that. And it looks like Noa has some explaining to do…Also, on a TOTALLY random note, I am so psyched for the new Golden Sun game!!! Has anybody else seen the art for it? They have a macho wind mage with an axe!!! It defies all logic in this world! I am convinced he is related to Garret in some way, shape, or form._

_Mountain Pass: Like I stated earlier, Kibombo is a pain in the butt to get to._

_Spirit pillars: I made these up. They are in the game, but their purpose is unknown._

_Troy and Lynna's tattoo's-They got these before they left Kalt Island. Basically, it's a prayer to the gods of fire written in the language of Prox. It is in two double lines that meet at the front of their ankle where there is a sun inscribed. (Kalt being so close to Prox shares its language.) They have no special purpose._

_Character Profiles_

**Ellora**

**Full name-**Ellora la Solana de Anila

**Age-**19

**Adept-**Jupiter Adept

**Element-**Wind

**Hair-**Gold, waist length, usually kept in a thick braid or left loose

**Eyes-**Purple-blue

**Height-**5'10

**Hometown**-Anemos on the continent of Atteka

**Family**-Younger Sisters (Noa and Ivira)

**Hobby**-Bird watching

**Outfit**-She usually wears a purple dress with long but loose sleeves. It flares out a bit from the waist, and has lacing up one side of it. She wears purple slippers. She has another more 'priestly' looking dress for when she's performing her duties as priestess.

**Inspiration/Origin of Character**-Ellora is Noa's mother figure. She's the one who stays at home and worries over Noa as she goes adventuring out across the land. She cares for her sister's deeply, and hates it when she can't watch over them. Anyway, she is rather the stereotypical lady who waits at home for the hero to return. She can still kick butt though, no problems there. She is very perceptive, a trait I based off my mother. (She knows all!) Ellora will show up again, just not any time soon. Her body type and coloring is based off of Ivan, Sheba, and Hama from the games.

**Ivira**

**Full name-**Ivira la Solana de Anila

**Age-**14

**Adept-**Jupiter Adept

**Element-**Wind

**Hair-**Gold, mid back length (she's growing it out.) Usually keeps it loose or pulled back

**Eyes-**Purple-blue

**Height-**5'2 ½

**Hometown**-Anemos on the continent of Atteka

**Family**-Elder Sisters (Ellora and Noa)

**Hobby**-Spying and eavesdropping

**Outfit**-Ivira likes blue better than purple, so her outfit is mostly done with shades of blue. She wears a dark blue under dress, and a lighter blue over dress which has no sleeves and goes over the head, and falls down the front and the back. It is trimmed in silver colored cord, and her belt is silver as well. Her shoes are brown leather.

**Inspiration/Origin of Character**-Ivira is the troublesome younger sibling who Noa watches out for. Ivira looks up to both of her elder sisters, and wants to be like them someday. Ivira is the child who can't keep her nose out of other people's business. She is not based off any real person, but simply walked in one day and demanded to be written about. Ivira will play a larger role in the story's future, but is still stuck on the other side of the world at the moment. (She hates that.) Her body type and coloring is based off Ivan, Sheba, and Hama from the games.

Summoning and the Gods 101

Hosted by: Noa, Megaera, Eris, and Atalanta

Noa: *Standing on a stage, microphone in hand.* Hello, welcome to Summing and the Gods 101. The purpose of this dialogue is to explain how summoning, and communications with the Gods works in GS: Age of Light. With me to present today are the three goddesses who have appeared the most in the story so far: Megaera, Eris, and Atalanta.

*Megaera and Atalanta appear in a gust of wind.*

Megaera: Due to the number of questions she has received, Mokona-Midoki has decided to more fully explain the subject.

Atalanta: Thanks for joining us!

Noa: Uh, where's Eris?

Megaera: *Rolls her eyes* She said she had more important things to do than regale the audience with boring facts that don't concern her.

Atalanta: In other words she skipped.

Noa: Ah. I see. Well then, moving on. *Pulls out a poster board and places it on a stand.* There are a few basic rules to this whole deal.

Megaera: Rule #1: Gods are not allowed to mess in the mortal realm unless invited.

Atalanta: Meaning, we must be summoned by a mortal.

Megaera: This rule can be bent, but with pretty bad consequences to the god or goddess in question.

Noa: So then how did Eris communicate with Wayde? He didn't summon her.

Eris: *Appears in a burst of fire, smirking.* I will answer that question!

Megaera: I thought you were skipping on this? Something about watching a volcano blow up?

Eris: Well I heard my name, and I couldn't help but come! Anyway, as far as Wayde goes, I am his patron goddess. So he worships me! *Other three roll eyes.*

Atalanta: A god or goddess hears their name whenever someone prays to them.

Eris: I could communicate to him through his dreams because the realm of dreams is much closer to the Ethereal than the mortal realm.

Noa: Rule #2: A mortal cannot summon a god unless the god gives the mortal permission.

Atalanta: We, the gods of Jupiter, gave Noa permission to summon us when she needed us. So she can call on any of us whenever she wants.

Eris: However, she couldn't summon me because I am a god of Mars and haven't given her permission.

Megaera: When a mortal summons a god, they use their psyenergy to contact the god and create a path to the mortal realm.

Atalanta: Otherwise the god cannot descend. If we have enough power, we can descend on our own, but it takes a massive amount of energy, and we dislike to do it.

Eris: Therefore, a god cannot be summoned by someone who has no psyenergy.

Noa: Okay, I think that's all. Thanks for coming today guys.

Megaera: No problem. Just finish the quest in a timely manner. Like today.

Noa: Heh heh, right. See you later!

Atalanta: Thanks for coming!

Eris: Now where'd I leave that volcano?


End file.
